Madeleine McCann's Father Calls for Tougher Media Oversight Following Recollections of Media "Monstering".

The father of Madeleine McCann has issued a call for increased oversight for the UK media, recounting how intense press coverage made him feel like he was being "drowning under the pressure".

The McCanns Subjected to Media Intrusion

According to Gerry McCann, his family was deeply affected by press "excesses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the search for answers regarding his daughter's disappearance in 2007.

He stated that the media attention exacted a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We endured sustained interest and inaccurate reports for over a year that led us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We were fortunate. We got through it. We had incredible backing. Yet, I must tell 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.

An Appeal for Revive Leveson Inquiry

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among dozens of individuals who have signed a letter calling on the government to revive the second part of the Leveson inquiry, which was due to examine the relationship between the media and the police.

McCann said it was not acceptable that over a year later, 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 "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 terrified, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

"It's the inaccuracies. It's the fabrication of stories to drive a headline, rather than reality, which destroys people's lives," he stated.

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 front-page headlines about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he told.

"That almost pulls you under, 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 must be accountability. And at the minute, for most of these mainstream media, there is no redress," he concluded.

Government Response and Evolving News Environment

The Culture Secretary said that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been rejected and that the media landscape was now profoundly changed.

"We share the view that the context has evolved profoundly since the Leveson's second phase was proposed: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has presented new and different challenges," they explained.

They added that balancing the needs of those affected with the need for a free press was a "complex balance to get right," but acknowledged that "steps must be taken in this area".

A Continued Search for Closure

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 as a three-year-old. Gerry McCann said that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

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

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "We hope to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and bring whoever's responsible, and other children are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he stated.