Madeleine McCann's Father Demands Stricter Press Regulation Amid Accounts of Media "Tormenting".

The father of Madeleine McCann has urged for increased scrutiny of the UK media, recounting how being "monstered" by the press made him feel like he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Subjected to Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was subjected to press "abuses" and that the media had "consistently hampered" the search for answers regarding his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He noted that the intrusion took a "huge toll" on his family. "We endured sustained interest and sensationalized stories for over a year that forced 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 overwhelmed, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

An Appeal for Revive Leveson Inquiry

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

He expressed that it was unacceptable that over a year later, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He described how his family had been subjected to "monstering" by sections of the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for an extended period after Madeleine went missing.

Recounting the Harassment

Detailing the events, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, photographers pushing their cameras against our car window, when we had our toddler twins in the back who were frightened, 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 the facts, which causes immense harm," he stated.

The Need for Tougher Oversight and Redress

He argued this behavior demonstrated 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 alleged events," 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. There has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no redress," he concluded.

Official Position and Evolving News Environment

The Culture Secretary said that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been ruled out and that the news environment was now drastically altered.

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

It was also noted 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".

An Enduring Search for Answers

The child went missing from a family vacation apartment in 2007 as a three-year-old. Her father expressed that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which ought to have remained private... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew much more than you should have done," he explained.

Speaking about hope, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and bring whoever's responsible, and other children are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he concluded.