Madeleine McCann's Father Calls for Stronger Media Regulation Following Recollections of Media "Tormenting".

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

A Family Subjected to Media Intrusion

According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "abuses" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He noted that the media attention exacted a "huge toll" on his family. "We endured constant scrutiny and misleading headlines for over a year that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We were fortunate. We survived. We received tremendous support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he stated.

An Appeal for Restart Press Regulation Review

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among more than 30 people who have endorsed a letter asking the government to reopen the second phase of the Leveson investigation, which was set up to look into the links between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was unacceptable that over a year later, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been victims of "relentless targeting" by sections of the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for months after Madeleine went missing.

Describing the Harassment

Recalling the harassment, he said: "Media at our doorstep, cameras being shoved 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 making up of stories to fit the agenda, rather than the truth, which causes immense harm," he added.

A Demand for Tougher Oversight and Accountability

He said the conduct demonstrated why there needed to be tougher 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. 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 no redress," he argued.

Government Position and Evolving News Environment

The Culture Secretary said that a second phase of the inquiry had been ruled out and that the news environment was now drastically altered.

"We share the view that the context has evolved profoundly from the time the second part of Leveson was proposed: people now are more likely to get their news from the internet, which has created new and different challenges," they stated.

The minister further stated that weighing the needs of those affected with the principle of press freedom was a "complex balance to get right," but acknowledged that "action is needed in this area".

An Enduring Hope for Closure

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

"Confidential details which should have been confidential... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he noted.

Regarding the ongoing search, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and bring whoever's responsible, and people are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he stated.