Madeleine McCann's Father Urges Stronger Media Regulation Amid Accounts of Media "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for greater oversight for the UK media, detailing how sustained media attention made him feel as if he was being "overwhelmed".

The McCanns Tormented by Media Intrusion

According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "abuses" and that the media had "consistently hampered" the investigation into his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He noted that the intrusion took a "huge toll" on his family. "We faced constant scrutiny and misleading headlines for many months that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We were fortunate. We survived. 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 reflected.

A Call to Restart Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have signed a letter urging ministers to restart the second part of the Leveson inquiry, which was due to examine the dynamic between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was not acceptable that over a year later, 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 "posted" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Recounting the Intrusion

Recalling the harassment, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, photographers literally ramming their cameras against our car window, when we had young twin children in the back who were scared, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

"It's the inaccuracies. It's the fabrication of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the facts, which destroys people's lives," he emphasized.

The Need for Tougher Oversight and Redress

He stated these actions demonstrated why there needed to be stricter 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 almost pulls you under, and you can see how people are broken by 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 large media outlets, there is no redress," he asserted.

Government Response and Evolving News Environment

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

"We share the view that the situation has changed dramatically since 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 created new and different challenges," the minister said.

It was also noted that weighing the needs of those affected 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 Answers

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a family vacation apartment in 2007 as a three-year-old. Gerry McCann said that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which was meant for police only... This meant a potential culprit, 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 "faint yet persistent". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and hold the perpetrator, and people are at risk while that person is free," he concluded.