Madeleine McCann's Parent Demands Stricter Press Regulation Amid Accounts of Press "Tormenting".

The father of Madeleine McCann has issued a call for more robust oversight for the UK media, recounting how being "monstered" by the press made him feel like he was being "drowning under the pressure".

The McCanns Subjected to Press "Abuses"

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

He emphasized that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We faced ongoing coverage and misleading headlines for 15 months or more that led 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, mainly, not the situation we were in," he stated.

A Call to Revive Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have signed a letter asking the government to revive the second part of the Leveson investigation, which was due to examine the dynamic between the media and the police.

McCann said it was unacceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He described how his family had been victims of "relentless targeting" by certain the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for months after Madeleine went missing.

Recounting the Harassment

Detailing the events, 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 scared, and how upsetting that is for you as a parent."

"It's the half-truths. It's the invention of stories to suit a narrative, rather than reality, which causes immense harm," he added.

A Demand for Stronger Oversight and Redress

He said the conduct showed 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 described.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people succumb to it and think they can't get out of it. The impact is devastating, 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 argued.

Official Position and Evolving News Environment

A government minister commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been rejected and that the news environment was now profoundly changed.

"We share the view that the situation has changed significantly 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 thrown up new and different challenges," the minister said.

They added that weighing the needs of those affected with the principle of press freedom was a "challenging task to get right," but acknowledged that "reform is required in this area".

A Continued Search for Closure

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. Her father expressed that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.

"Leaked information which was meant for police only... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew far more than you should have done," he said.

Speaking about hope, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and hold the perpetrator, and other children are at risk while that person is free," he affirmed.