Madeleine McCann's Father Demands Stronger Media Regulation Following Accounts of Media "Hounding".

The father of Madeleine McCann has issued a call for more robust scrutiny of the UK media, describing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel that he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Subjected to Media Intrusion

Gerry McCann stated that his family was deeply affected by press "excesses" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the search for answers regarding his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He emphasized that the media attention exacted a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We endured ongoing coverage and inaccurate reports for many months 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 recounted.

A Call to Restart Leveson Inquiry

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among more than 30 people who have endorsed a letter calling on ministers to revive the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was due to examine the relationship between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was not acceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He said that his family had been endured "monstering" by sections of the media and that the press was "camped" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

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 terrified, and how upsetting that is for you as a parent."

"It's the half-truths. It's the invention of stories to fit the agenda, rather than reality, which causes immense harm," he stated.

A Demand for Tougher Oversight and Redress

He argued this behavior highlighted 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 splash stories about ourselves and unverified claims," he described.

"That almost pulls you under, and you can see how people give in to it and think they can't get out of it. It's so damaging, and we need that protection. There has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no effective recourse," he concluded.

Official Position and Evolving News Environment

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

"We share the view that the situation has changed significantly from the time the second part of Leveson was proposed: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has thrown up new and different challenges," the minister said.

They added that weighing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "complex balance to get right," but recognized that "steps must be taken in this area".

An Enduring Hope for Closure

The child went missing from a family vacation apartment in 2007 when she was three years old. Her father expressed that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.

"Published material which was meant for police only... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew a lot 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 others are at risk while that person is free," he affirmed.