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

The father of Madeleine McCann has issued a call for more robust scrutiny of the UK media, detailing how intense press coverage made him feel as if he was being "drowning under the pressure".

The McCanns Tormented by Media Intrusion

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

He stated that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had constant scrutiny and inaccurate reports for many months that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he explained.

"We are lucky. We got through it. We had incredible backing. Yet, I must tell you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, mostly, not the situation we were in," he stated.

An Appeal for Revive Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have endorsed a letter urging ministers to revive the second part of the Leveson inquiry, which was intended to examine 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 described how his family had been endured "relentless targeting" by parts of the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for an extended period after the disappearance.

Recounting the Intrusion

Recalling the harassment, he said: "Media at our doorstep, photographers pushing their cameras against our car window, when we had our toddler twins in the back who were frightened, and how upsetting that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the making up of stories to fit the agenda, rather than the truth, which ruins lives," he added.

The Need for Tougher Oversight and Accountability

He stated these actions highlighted why there needed to be more robust press regulation. "At night, as we prepared for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be major reports about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he described.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people succumb to it and think they can't get out of it. The harm is profound, and we need that protection. There must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of these mainstream media, there is little accountability," he argued.

Official Position and Evolving Media Landscape

The Culture Secretary commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been discounted and that the news environment was now profoundly changed.

"We share the view that the landscape has transformed significantly since the second part of Leveson was recommended: the public is now more likely to get their news from the internet, which has presented new and different challenges," the minister said.

It was also noted that balancing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "complex balance to get right," but conceded that "action is needed in this area".

A Continued Search for Closure

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. It was stated that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.

"Confidential details which was meant for police only... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he noted.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the hope he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and bring whoever's responsible, and other children are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he concluded.