Madeleine McCann's Parent Urges Tougher Press Regulation Amid Accounts of Press "Monstering".

The father of Madeleine McCann has issued a call for increased scrutiny of the UK media, detailing how intense press coverage made him feel that he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Tormented by Press "Abuses"

Gerry McCann stated that his family was deeply affected by press "intrusions" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the investigation into his daughter's going missing in 2007.

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

"We were fortunate. We survived. We received strong support. However, I assure you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, mainly, not the situation we were in," he reflected.

A Call to Restart Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among a group of people who have signed a letter calling on ministers to revive the second part of the Leveson investigation, which was due to examine the relationship between the media and the police.

McCann said it was not acceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He described how his family had been subjected to "monstering" by certain the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for months after Madeleine went missing.

Describing the Intrusion

Recalling the harassment, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, photographers literally ramming their cameras against our car window, when we had two-year-old twins in the back who were scared, and how distressing that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the fabrication of stories to suit a narrative, rather than reality, which ruins lives," he added.

The Need for Tougher Regulation and Redress

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 what supposedly happened," he said.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people succumb to it and think they can't get out of it. It's so damaging, and we need that protection. There must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of the large media outlets, there is little accountability," he concluded.

Government Response and Evolving News Environment

A government minister stated that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been ruled out and that the news environment was now profoundly changed.

"We share the view that the situation has changed 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 explained.

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 Search for Answers

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. Her father expressed that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.

"Confidential details which should have been confidential... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew far more than you should have done," he said.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the hope 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 other children are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he affirmed.