Madeleine McCann's Father Calls for Tougher Media Regulation Following Accounts of Media "Monstering".

The father of Madeleine McCann has urged for increased oversight for the UK media, recounting how sustained media attention made him feel as if he was being "suffocated and buried".

A Family Subjected to Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "excesses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the search for answers regarding his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He stated that the media attention exacted a "heavy burden" on his family. "We endured constant scrutiny 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. However, I assure you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, mostly, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

An Appeal for Revive Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among dozens of individuals who have put their names to a letter asking the government to revive the second part of the Leveson inquiry, 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 "not being prioritized". He said that his family had been victims of "monstering" by sections of the media and that the press was "camped" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Describing the Harassment

Describing the intrusion, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, photographers pushing their cameras against our car window, when we had two-year-old 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 making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than reality, which destroys people's lives," he stated.

The Need for Tougher Oversight and Redress

He said the conduct demonstrated why there needed to be stricter 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 unverified claims," he described.

"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 major publishers, there is no redress," he argued.

Official Position and Evolving News Environment

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

"We share the view that the situation has changed profoundly from the time the Leveson's second phase was recommended: the public is now more likely to get their news from the internet, which has thrown up new and different challenges," they explained.

It was also noted that balancing the needs of those affected with the principle of press freedom was a "really difficult thing to get right," but recognized that "action is needed in this area".

An Enduring Hope for Closure

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 as a three-year-old. It was stated that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Published material which was meant for police only... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he said.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the chance he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "We hope to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and bring whoever's responsible, and others are at risk while that person is free," he affirmed.