The McCann family Father Demands Stricter Media Regulation Following Accounts of Press "Hounding".

The father of Madeleine McCann has urged for increased oversight for the UK media, detailing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel like he was being "overwhelmed".

A Family Subjected to Media Intrusion

According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "abuses" and that the media had "consistently hampered" the search for answers regarding his daughter's 2007 disappearance.

He noted that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had constant scrutiny and inaccurate reports for 15 months or more that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he explained.

"We were fortunate. We survived. We received incredible backing. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, mostly, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

A Call to Revive Leveson Inquiry

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among dozens of individuals who have signed a letter asking ministers to restart the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was set up to look into the links between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was not acceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been victims of "relentless targeting" by sections of the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Describing the Harassment

Detailing the events, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, photographers pushing their cameras against our car window, when we had young twin children in the back who were frightened, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

"It's the inaccuracies. It's the invention of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the facts, which destroys people's lives," he stated.

A Demand for Tougher Regulation and Redress

He argued this behavior demonstrated why there needed to be more robust press regulation. "We'd be getting ready for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he told.

"That can drag you down, and you can see how people give in to it and think they can't get out of it. The harm is profound, and we need that protection. There must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no redress," he concluded.

Official Position and Changing Media Landscape

A government minister stated that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been rejected and that the news environment was now drastically altered.

"Our position aligns that the context has evolved profoundly from the time the second part of Leveson was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has thrown up new and different challenges," the minister said.

They added that weighing the needs of those affected with the principle of press freedom was a "really difficult thing to get right," but conceded that "steps must be taken in this area".

A Continued Hope for Answers

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a family vacation apartment in 2007 as a three-year-old. Gerry McCann said that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which was meant for police only... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew far more than you should have done," he explained.

Regarding the ongoing search, he said the hope he would find his daughter was "faint yet persistent". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and see justice served, and others are at risk while that person is free," he affirmed.