Madeleine McCann's Parent Demands Tougher Media Regulation Amid Accounts of Media "Monstering".

The father of Madeleine McCann has demanded more robust scrutiny of the UK media, detailing 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 tormented by press "excesses" and that the media had "consistently hampered" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He noted that the media attention exacted a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had constant scrutiny and misleading headlines for many months that led us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We were fortunate. We survived. We received strong support. However, I assure 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 reflected.

A Call to Restart Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have endorsed a letter urging ministers to restart the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was due to examine the links between the media and the police.

McCann said it was unacceptable that more than a year on, 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 "posted" outside his home for an extended period after Madeleine went missing.

Recounting the Intrusion

Detailing the events, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, cameras being shoved their cameras against our car window, when we had young twin children in the back who were frightened, and how upsetting that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the making up of stories to fit the agenda, rather than the facts, which ruins lives," he stated.

The Need for Tougher Regulation and Redress

He stated these actions highlighted 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 front-page headlines about ourselves and unverified claims," 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. The impact is devastating, and we need that protection. There has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of these mainstream media, there is no redress," he argued.

Government Response and Changing News Environment

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

"Our position aligns that the landscape has transformed significantly from the time 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 presented new and different challenges," they stated.

They added that balancing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "really difficult thing to get right," but acknowledged that "action is needed in this area".

A Continued Hope for Closure

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 as a three-year-old. It was stated that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

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

Speaking about hope, he said the hope he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and hold the perpetrator, and people are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he concluded.