Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has urged for more robust scrutiny of the UK media, detailing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel that he was being "drowning under the pressure".
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 emphasized that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We endured sustained interest and sensationalized stories for over a year that led us to take legal action to stop it," he explained.
"We were fortunate. We survived. We had tremendous support. However, I assure you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he recounted.
The McCanns are among dozens of individuals who have signed a letter urging ministers to reopen the second part of the Leveson investigation, which was intended to examine the dynamic between the media and the police.
McCann said it was not acceptable that over a year later, press regulation was "not being prioritized". He described how his family had been endured "relentless targeting" by parts of the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for an extended period after the disappearance.
Detailing the events, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, photographers literally ramming their cameras against our car window, when we had young twin children in the back who were frightened, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."
"It's the inaccuracies. It's the making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the facts, which destroys people's lives," he stated.
He said the conduct 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 major reports about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he told.
"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 harm is profound, and we need that protection. People deserve recourse. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no redress," he concluded.
A government minister stated that a second phase of the inquiry had been rejected and that the media landscape was now profoundly changed.
"Our position aligns that the landscape has transformed profoundly since the second part of Leveson was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news from diverse digital platforms, which has thrown up new and different challenges," they stated.
It was also noted that weighing the needs of those affected with the principle of press freedom was a "challenging task to get right," but acknowledged that "steps must be taken in this area".
Madeleine McCann disappeared from a family vacation apartment in 2007 as a three-year-old. Her father expressed that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.
"Published material which ought to have remained private... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew much more than you should have done," he noted.
Regarding the ongoing search, he said the chance 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 that person is free," he stated.
