The McCann family Father Urges Stronger Media Oversight Following Accounts of Press "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for greater scrutiny of the UK media, describing how sustained media attention made him feel as if he was being "drowning under the pressure".

A Family Subjected to Press "Abuses"

Gerry McCann stated that his family was subjected to press "abuses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the search for answers regarding his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He noted that the media attention exacted a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We had constant scrutiny and inaccurate reports for over a year that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We were fortunate. We got through it. We had incredible backing. Yet, I must tell you, there were times where I felt like I was being suffocated, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

An Appeal for Revive Press Regulation Review

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among dozens of individuals who have put their names to a letter urging the government to restart the second part of the Leveson investigation, which was due to examine the links between the media and the police.

McCann said it was unacceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He said that his family had been endured "monstering" by certain the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for months after Madeleine went missing.

Describing the Harassment

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

"It's the inaccuracies. It's the fabrication of stories to drive a headline, rather than the truth, which destroys people's lives," he stated.

A Demand for Stronger Oversight and Accountability

He said the conduct demonstrated why there needed to be tougher press regulation. "In the evenings, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he told.

"That can drag you down, 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 has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no redress," he concluded.

Government Position and Changing Media Landscape

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

"Our position aligns that the landscape has transformed profoundly from the time the Leveson's second phase was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has thrown up new and different challenges," they stated.

They added that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "challenging task to get right," but recognized that "action is needed in this area".

A Continued Hope for Closure

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. It was stated 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 noted.

Speaking about hope, he said the chance he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and bring whoever's responsible, and people are at risk while that person is free," he affirmed.