🔗 Share this article The McCann family Parent Urges Tougher Press Regulation Amid Accounts of Media "Monstering". The father of Madeleine McCann has demanded increased oversight for the UK media, detailing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel that he was being "overwhelmed". The McCanns Tormented by Media Intrusion Gerry McCann stated that his family was deeply affected by press "intrusions" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's 2007 disappearance. He noted that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had sustained interest and misleading headlines for over a year that led us to take legal action to stop it," he commented. "We are lucky. We got through it. We had strong support. Yet, I must tell you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he stated. An Appeal for Restart Leveson Inquiry The McCanns are among a group of people who have signed a letter calling on the government to restart the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was set up to look into the dynamic between the media and the police. McCann said it was not acceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been subjected to "monstering" by certain the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for an extended period after the disappearance. Describing the Harassment Recalling the harassment, 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 upsetting that is for you as a parent." "It's the half-truths. It's the making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the truth, which ruins lives," he added. The Need for Tougher Oversight and Accountability He argued this behavior showed why there needed to be more robust press regulation. "At night, as we prepared for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and unverified claims," he told. "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 these mainstream media, there is no redress," he concluded. Government Response and Evolving Media Landscape The Culture Secretary commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been discounted and that the news environment was now drastically altered. "We share the view that the situation has changed dramatically since the second part of Leveson was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has created new and different challenges," the minister said. They added that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "really difficult thing to get right," but acknowledged that "action is needed in this area". A Continued Search for Answers Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. Gerry McCann said that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation. "Published material which was meant for police only... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew far more than you should have done," he noted. Regarding the ongoing search, 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 bring whoever's responsible, and other children are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he concluded.
The father of Madeleine McCann has demanded increased oversight for the UK media, detailing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel that he was being "overwhelmed". The McCanns Tormented by Media Intrusion Gerry McCann stated that his family was deeply affected by press "intrusions" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's 2007 disappearance. He noted that the intrusion took a "heavy burden" on his family. "We had sustained interest and misleading headlines for over a year that led us to take legal action to stop it," he commented. "We are lucky. We got through it. We had strong support. Yet, I must tell you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he stated. An Appeal for Restart Leveson Inquiry The McCanns are among a group of people who have signed a letter calling on the government to restart the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was set up to look into the dynamic between the media and the police. McCann said it was not acceptable that after more than a year, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been subjected to "monstering" by certain the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for an extended period after the disappearance. Describing the Harassment Recalling the harassment, 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 upsetting that is for you as a parent." "It's the half-truths. It's the making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the truth, which ruins lives," he added. The Need for Tougher Oversight and Accountability He argued this behavior showed why there needed to be more robust press regulation. "At night, as we prepared for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and unverified claims," he told. "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 these mainstream media, there is no redress," he concluded. Government Response and Evolving Media Landscape The Culture Secretary commented that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been discounted and that the news environment was now drastically altered. "We share the view that the situation has changed dramatically since the second part of Leveson was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has created new and different challenges," the minister said. They added that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "really difficult thing to get right," but acknowledged that "action is needed in this area". A Continued Search for Answers Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. Gerry McCann said that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation. "Published material which was meant for police only... Consequently, anyone involved, you knew far more than you should have done," he noted. Regarding the ongoing search, 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 bring whoever's responsible, and other children are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he concluded.