Madeleine McCann's Parent Calls for Tougher Media Regulation Following Accounts of Media "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has demanded more robust scrutiny of the UK media, detailing how sustained media attention made him feel that he was being "suffocated and buried".

A Family Tormented by Media Intrusion

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

He stated that the intrusion took a "huge toll" on his family. "We endured sustained interest and sensationalized stories for over a year that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We are lucky. We got through it. We received strong support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was being suffocated, and it was the media, mostly, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

A Call to Restart Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among more than 30 people who have endorsed a letter urging the government to restart the second part of the Leveson inquiry, 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 "not being prioritized". He said that his family had been victims of "monstering" by certain the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for an extended period after the disappearance.

Describing the Harassment

Describing the intrusion, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, cameras being shoved their cameras against our car window, when we had two-year-old twins in the back who were scared, and how distressing that is for you as a parent."

"It's the half-truths. It's the invention of stories to fit the agenda, rather than the truth, which causes immense harm," he added.

A Demand for Tougher Regulation and Accountability

He stated these actions highlighted why there needed to be tougher press regulation. "In the evenings, we'd put on the news, and there'd be major reports about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he described.

"That can drag you down, and you can see how people succumb to it and think they can't get out of it. The harm is profound, and we need that protection. There must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no redress," he concluded.

Government Response and Changing News Environment

A government minister commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been discounted and that the news environment was now very different.

"Our position aligns that the context has evolved significantly since the Leveson's second phase was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has presented new and different challenges," the minister said.

It was also noted that weighing the needs of those affected with the need for a free press was a "challenging task to get right," but recognized that "reform is required in this area".

A Continued Search for Answers

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 when she was three years old. Gerry McCann said that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.

"Confidential details which was meant for police only... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew far more than you should have done," he said.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the hope he would find his daughter was "faint yet persistent". "We hope to find her alive, but we need to find out what happened and see justice served, and other children are at risk while that person is free," he stated.