Madeleine McCann's Parent Urges Stronger Press Regulation Amid Accounts of Press "Monstering".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has urged for more robust oversight for the UK media, recounting how being "monstered" by the press made him feel that he was being "drowning under the pressure".

A Family Subjected to Media Intrusion

Gerry McCann stated that his family was subjected to press "excesses" and that the media had "consistently hampered" the search for answers regarding his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He emphasized that the intrusion took a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We faced sustained interest and misleading headlines for over a year that led us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We are lucky. We got through it. We had tremendous support. However, I assure 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 Restart Press Regulation Review

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have signed a letter asking the government to restart the second part of the Leveson inquiry, which was intended to examine the relationship 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 victims of "monstering" by parts of the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Recounting the Intrusion

Detailing the events, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, photographers pushing 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 half-truths. It's the invention of stories to drive a headline, rather than reality, which causes immense harm," he added.

The Need for Tougher Regulation and Accountability

He said the conduct demonstrated why there needed to be stricter press regulation. "We'd be getting ready for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be major reports about ourselves and alleged events," he said.

"That almost pulls you under, 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. People deserve recourse. And at the minute, for most of the large media outlets, 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 discounted and that the media landscape was now very different.

"We agree that the landscape has transformed significantly since the second part of Leveson was proposed: the public is now more likely to get their news from the internet, which has created new and different challenges," the minister said.

It was also noted that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "challenging task to get right," but conceded that "steps must be taken in this area".

A Continued Hope for Answers

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. Gerry McCann said that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Published material which was meant for police only... This meant a potential culprit, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he said.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the chance he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to find out what happened and hold the perpetrator, and others are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he affirmed.