The McCann family Parent Urges Tougher Press Oversight Following Accounts of Media "Tormenting".

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

The McCanns Tormented by Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was deeply affected by press "abuses" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the search for answers regarding his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He stated that the intrusion took a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We had ongoing coverage and misleading headlines for many months that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We are lucky. We got through it. We received incredible backing. But I can promise 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 recounted.

A Call to Revive Press Regulation Review

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have endorsed a letter urging ministers to revive the second part of the Leveson investigation, which was set up to look into the links between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was not acceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He said that his family had been endured "relentless targeting" by certain the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Recounting the Harassment

Describing the intrusion, 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 frightened, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

"It's the half-truths. It's the making up of stories to drive a headline, rather than the facts, which causes immense harm," he added.

The Need for Tougher Regulation and Redress

He stated these actions 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 splash stories about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he told.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people succumb 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 these mainstream media, there is little accountability," he asserted.

Official Position and Changing Media Landscape

The Culture Secretary commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been discounted and that the media landscape was now drastically altered.

"Our position aligns that the landscape has transformed dramatically since the second part of Leveson was recommended: the public is now more likely to get their news from diverse digital platforms, which has presented new and different challenges," the minister said.

The minister further stated that balancing the needs of those affected 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 Answers

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. It was stated that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which ought to have remained private... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he said.

Regarding the ongoing search, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "We hope to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and bring whoever's responsible, and other children are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he affirmed.