The McCann family Parent Demands Stricter Press Regulation Following Recollections of Media "Tormenting".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has demanded more robust scrutiny of the UK media, recounting how being "monstered" by the press made him feel as if he was being "overwhelmed".

A Family Tormented by Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was subjected to press "excesses" and that the media had "consistently hampered" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He emphasized that the intrusion took a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We endured ongoing coverage and sensationalized stories for 15 months or more 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, mainly, not the situation we were in," he reflected.

A Call to Revive Leveson Inquiry

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among more than 30 people who have endorsed a letter calling on ministers to revive the second part of the Leveson inquiry, which was intended to examine the relationship between the media and the police.

McCann said it was not acceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "off the agenda". He described how his family had been endured "relentless targeting" by certain the media and that the press was "camped" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Describing the Harassment

Describing the intrusion, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, photographers literally ramming their cameras against our car window, when we had young twin children in the back who were terrified, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

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

The Need for Stronger Oversight and Redress

He argued this behavior showed why there needed to be more robust 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 can drag you down, 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 must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is little accountability," he concluded.

Government Response and Evolving News Environment

The Culture Secretary commented that a second phase of the inquiry had been discounted and that the media landscape was now drastically altered.

"We share the view that the context has evolved significantly from the time the second part of Leveson was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news from diverse digital platforms, which has presented 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 "challenging task to get right," but recognized that "reform is required in this area".

A Continued Hope for Closure

The child went missing from a family vacation apartment in 2007 when she was three years old. It was stated that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Published material which ought to have remained private... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew far more than you should have done," he said.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "We hope to find her alive, but we need to find out what happened and bring whoever's responsible, and others are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he affirmed.