The McCann family Father Calls for Stronger Press Oversight Following Accounts of Press "Hounding".

The father of Madeleine McCann has demanded more robust oversight for the UK media, describing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel as if he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Tormented by Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "excesses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He emphasized that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had sustained interest and misleading headlines for over a year that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We are lucky. We got through it. We had tremendous support. Yet, I must tell you, there were times where I felt like I was being suffocated, and it was the media, mostly, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

A Call to Revive Press Regulation Review

The McCanns are among a group of people who have endorsed a letter urging ministers to revive the second phase of the Leveson investigation, which was set up to look into the links between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was not acceptable that over a year later, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been victims of "relentless targeting" by parts of the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for an extended period after Madeleine went missing.

Describing 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 distressing that is for you as a parent."

"It's the half-truths. It's the invention of stories to drive a headline, rather than the truth, which destroys people's lives," he stated.

A Demand for Tougher Oversight and Accountability

He stated these actions showed 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 major reports about ourselves and alleged events," he said.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people are broken by 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 little accountability," he concluded.

Government Response and Changing Media Landscape

A government minister said that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been rejected and that the media landscape was now profoundly changed.

"Our position aligns that the situation has changed profoundly since the second part of Leveson was proposed: people now are more likely to get their news from diverse digital platforms, which has presented new and different challenges," they stated.

It was also noted that balancing the needs of those affected 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 as a three-year-old. Her father expressed that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had repeatedly interfered with the investigation.

"Published material which was meant for police only... So if you were the perpetrator, 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 "small but still alive". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to find out what happened and bring whoever's responsible, and other children are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he stated.