The McCann family Parent Calls for Tougher Media Regulation Following Recollections of Press "Hounding".

The father of Madeleine McCann has issued a call for more robust scrutiny of the UK media, recounting how being "monstered" by the press made him feel that he was being "drowning under the pressure".

A Family Subjected to Media Intrusion

Gerry McCann stated that his family was deeply affected by press "abuses" and that the media had "consistently hampered" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He stated that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had constant scrutiny and inaccurate reports for many months that led us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We were fortunate. We survived. We received tremendous support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he reflected.

A Call to Revive Leveson Inquiry

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among dozens of individuals who have endorsed a letter calling on the government to reopen the second phase of the Leveson investigation, which was due to examine the links between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was not acceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "not being prioritized". He described how his family had been endured "relentless targeting" by parts of the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Recounting the Harassment

Detailing the events, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, photographers pushing their cameras against our car window, when we had our toddler twins in the back who were scared, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the fabrication of stories to suit a narrative, rather than reality, which causes immense harm," he added.

The Need for Tougher Regulation and Redress

He stated these actions highlighted why there needed to be tougher press regulation. "At night, as we prepared for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he told.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people succumb to it and think they can't get out of it. The impact is devastating, and we need that protection. There has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the large media outlets, there is little accountability," he argued.

Government Response and Changing News Environment

A government minister commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been discounted and that the news environment was now profoundly changed.

"Our position aligns that the landscape has transformed dramatically since the second part of Leveson was proposed: people now are more likely to get their news from the internet, which has thrown up new and different challenges," they explained.

They added that balancing the needs of those affected with the need for a free press was a "complex balance to get right," but acknowledged that "reform is required 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 "profoundly disappointing" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.

"Published material which ought to have remained private... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he said.

Regarding the ongoing search, he said the hope he would find his daughter was "faint yet persistent". "We hope to find her alive, but we need to find out what happened and see justice served, and others are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he stated.