Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for more robust oversight for the UK media, recounting how being "monstered" by the press made him feel as if he was being "drowning under the pressure".
According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "excesses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the search for answers regarding his daughter's disappearance in 2007.
He noted that the intrusion took a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We faced ongoing coverage and inaccurate reports for over a year that led us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.
"We are lucky. We survived. We had strong support. However, I assure you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, mainly, not the situation we were in," he reflected.
The McCanns are among a group of people who have endorsed a letter calling on ministers to restart the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was intended to examine the relationship 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 months after Madeleine went missing.
Detailing the events, he said: "Media at our doorstep, 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 misleading narratives. It's the invention of stories to suit a narrative, rather than reality, which causes immense harm," he stated.
He stated these actions demonstrated why there needed to be more robust press regulation. "In the evenings, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and unverified claims," he said.
"That almost pulls you under, 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 has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the large media outlets, there is little accountability," he asserted.
The Culture Secretary commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been discounted and that the media landscape was now profoundly changed.
"Our position aligns that the landscape has transformed profoundly from the time 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 thrown up new and different challenges," they explained.
The minister further stated that weighing the needs of those affected with the principle of press freedom was a "really difficult thing to get right," but conceded that "steps must be taken in this area".
The child went missing from a family vacation apartment in 2007 as a three-year-old. It was stated that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.
"Published material which was meant for police only... This meant a potential culprit, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he noted.
On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "faint yet persistent". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to find out what happened and see justice served, and people are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he concluded.
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