Madeleine McCann's Parent Urges Tougher Press Regulation Following Accounts of Press "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for increased oversight for the UK media, recounting how intense press coverage made him feel as if he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Subjected to Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was deeply affected by press "excesses" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He stated that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We endured ongoing coverage and sensationalized stories for 15 months or more that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We were fortunate. We survived. We had strong 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 stated.

An Appeal for Revive Press Regulation Review

The McCanns are among dozens of individuals who have signed a letter asking ministers to restart the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was due to examine the relationship between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was unacceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "off the agenda". He described how his family had been endured "relentless targeting" by sections of the media and that the press was "camped" outside his home for an extended period after the disappearance.

Recounting the Harassment

Recalling the harassment, he said: "Media at our doorstep, photographers pushing their cameras against our car window, when we had our toddler twins in the back who were scared, and how upsetting that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the facts, which destroys people's lives," he emphasized.

The Need for Tougher Oversight and Accountability

He said the conduct showed why there needed to be tougher press regulation. "We'd be getting ready for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be splash stories about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he said.

"That almost pulls you under, and you can see how people are broken by 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 these mainstream media, there is no redress," he asserted.

Official Position and Evolving Media Landscape

A government minister stated that a second phase of the inquiry had been rejected and that the media landscape was now profoundly changed.

"We share the view that the situation has changed profoundly from the time the Leveson's second phase was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has presented new and different challenges," they stated.

The minister further stated that balancing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "challenging task to get right," but conceded that "reform is required in this area".

A Continued Hope for Answers

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. Her father expressed that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which should have been confidential... This meant a potential culprit, you knew far more than you should have done," he said.

Speaking about hope, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and bring whoever's responsible, and others are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he stated.