The McCann family Father Urges Stricter Press Oversight Following Recollections of Media "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for greater oversight for the UK media, recounting how being "monstered" by the press made him feel as if he was being "drowning under the pressure".

The McCanns Subjected to Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was deeply affected by press "abuses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the investigation into his daughter's 2007 disappearance.

He stated that the intrusion took a "huge toll" on his family. "We faced ongoing coverage and inaccurate reports for 15 months or more that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We are lucky. We survived. We had tremendous support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was being suffocated, and it was the media, mainly, not the situation we were in," he stated.

An Appeal for Revive Leveson Inquiry

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

He expressed that it was unacceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "off the agenda". He described how his family had been endured "relentless targeting" by parts of the media and that the press was "camped" outside his home for months after Madeleine went missing.

Describing 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 terrified, and how traumatic 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 destroys people's lives," he emphasized.

A Demand for Tougher Oversight and Accountability

He stated these actions showed why there needed to be stricter press regulation. "In the evenings, we'd put on the news, and there'd be splash stories about ourselves and alleged events," he described.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people give in 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 large media outlets, there is little accountability," he concluded.

Official Position and Changing Media Landscape

The Culture Secretary said that a second phase of the inquiry had been discounted and that the media landscape was now very different.

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

It was also noted that weighing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "challenging task to get right," but recognized that "reform is required in this area".

A Continued Hope for Answers

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 as a three-year-old. It was stated that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had repeatedly interfered with the investigation.

"Published material which should have been confidential... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew much more than you should have done," he explained.

Speaking about hope, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "We hope to find her alive, but we need to find out what happened and see justice served, and others are at risk while that person is free," he stated.