The McCann family Father Urges Tougher Press Regulation Following Accounts of Media "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for increased scrutiny of the UK media, recounting how intense press coverage made him feel like he was being "overwhelmed".

The McCanns Tormented by Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was subjected to press "abuses" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He emphasized that the intrusion took a "huge toll" on his family. "We faced sustained interest and inaccurate reports for 15 months or more that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We are lucky. We got through it. We received tremendous support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

An Appeal for Restart Press Regulation Review

The McCanns are among a group of people who have put their names to a letter asking the government to restart the second part of the Leveson inquiry, which was intended to examine the dynamic between the media and the police.

McCann said it was not acceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been victims of "monstering" by sections of the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for an extended period after Madeleine went missing.

Recounting the Intrusion

Recalling the harassment, 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 distressing that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the invention of stories to fit the agenda, rather than the facts, which destroys people's lives," he added.

A Demand for Stronger Oversight and Accountability

He said the conduct highlighted why there needed to be more robust press regulation. "In the evenings, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he said.

"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 impact is devastating, and we need that protection. There must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no redress," he argued.

Official Response and Changing News Environment

A government minister stated that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been ruled out and that the news environment was now very different.

"Our position aligns that the situation has changed significantly since the Leveson's second phase was proposed: the public is now more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has thrown up new and different challenges," they explained.

They added that weighing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "challenging task to get right," but conceded that "steps must be taken in this area".

A Continued Hope for Closure

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 when she was three years old. Gerry McCann said that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which was meant for police only... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew far more than you should have done," he said.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the chance he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and bring whoever's responsible, and people are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he affirmed.