Madeleine McCann's Parent Demands Stricter Media Regulation Following Accounts of Media "Monstering".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has demanded increased oversight for the UK media, detailing how sustained media attention made him feel that he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Tormented by Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "intrusions" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the search for answers regarding his daughter's 2007 disappearance.

He noted that the media attention exacted a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We had sustained interest and inaccurate reports for 15 months or more that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We were fortunate. We got through it. We had tremendous support. 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 stated.

An Appeal for Restart Press Regulation Review

The McCanns are among dozens of individuals who have signed a letter asking ministers to restart the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was set up to look into the dynamic between the media and the police.

McCann said it was unacceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been subjected to "relentless targeting" by certain the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for months after Madeleine went missing.

Recounting the Intrusion

Describing the intrusion, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, cameras being shoved 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 misleading narratives. It's the making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the truth, which causes immense harm," he added.

The Need for Tougher Oversight and Redress

He said the conduct showed why there needed to be tougher press regulation. "At night, as we prepared for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be major reports about ourselves and alleged events," he said.

"That can drag you down, and you can see how people are broken by it and think they can't get out of it. The impact is devastating, and we need that protection. There must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of these mainstream media, there is no effective recourse," he concluded.

Official Response and Changing Media Landscape

A government minister said that a second phase of the inquiry had been ruled out and that the news environment was now very different.

"We share the view that the situation has changed profoundly from the time the Leveson's second phase was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news from the internet, which has presented new and different challenges," they explained.

It was also noted that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "complex balance to get right," but conceded that "reform is required in this area".

A Continued Search for Closure

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a family vacation apartment in 2007 at the age of three. Gerry McCann said that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which ought to have remained private... This meant a potential culprit, you knew far more than you should have done," he explained.

Regarding the ongoing search, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and see justice served, and others are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he stated.