Madeleine McCann's Father Demands Stricter Media Regulation Following Recollections of Press "Monstering".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for more robust oversight for the UK media, describing how sustained media attention made him feel like he was being "suffocated and buried".

A Family Subjected to Press "Abuses"

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

He stated that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had sustained interest and misleading headlines for many months that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he explained.

"We are lucky. We survived. We had tremendous support. Yet, I must tell you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, mainly, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

A Call to Restart Press Regulation Review

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have signed a letter urging the government to reopen 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 unacceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He said that his family had been victims of "monstering" by parts of the media and that the press was "camped" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Recounting the Intrusion

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

"It's the inaccuracies. It's the invention of stories to drive a headline, rather than reality, which destroys people's lives," he stated.

A Demand for Stronger Oversight and Accountability

He stated these actions 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 front-page headlines about ourselves and unverified claims," 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. People deserve recourse. And at the minute, for most of the large media outlets, there is little accountability," he argued.

Government Response and Evolving News Environment

The Culture Secretary said that a second phase of the inquiry had been discounted and that the media landscape was now drastically altered.

"We agree that the landscape has transformed dramatically since the Leveson's second phase was proposed: 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.

They added that weighing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "challenging task to get right," but conceded that "action is needed in this area".

A Continued Hope for Closure

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a family vacation apartment in 2007 at the age of three. 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 much 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". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and see justice served, and other children are at risk while that person is free," he affirmed.