🔗 Share this article The McCann family Parent Calls for Tougher Press Oversight Following Accounts of Media "Tormenting". Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has urged for increased scrutiny of the UK media, describing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel like he was being "drowning under the pressure". The McCanns Subjected to Press "Abuses" According to Gerry McCann, his family was subjected to press "intrusions" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007. He stated that the media attention exacted a "huge toll" on his family. "We endured sustained interest and inaccurate reports for many months that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said. "We are lucky. We survived. We had strong support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he stated. A Call to Restart Press Regulation Review The McCanns are among a group of people who have put their names to a letter calling on ministers to restart the second phase of the Leveson investigation, which was set up to look into the relationship between the media and the police. McCann said it was unacceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "no longer a priority". 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 months after Madeleine went missing. Recounting the Intrusion 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 terrified, and how distressing that is for you as a parent." "It's the half-truths. It's the fabrication of stories to fit the agenda, rather than reality, which destroys people's lives," he stated. The Need for Tougher Oversight and Redress He argued this behavior 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 major reports about ourselves and alleged events," 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 has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no effective recourse," he concluded. Official Position and Evolving News Environment The Culture Secretary said that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been ruled out and that the media landscape was now drastically altered. "We share the view that the context has evolved profoundly since the second part of Leveson was recommended: the public is now more likely to get their news from the internet, which has created new and different challenges," they stated. The minister further stated that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "complex balance to get right," but conceded that "reform is required in this area". A Continued Hope for Answers The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 when she was three years old. Her father expressed that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation. "Confidential details which should have been confidential... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he explained. Speaking about hope, 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 hold the perpetrator, and other children are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he affirmed.
Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has urged for increased scrutiny of the UK media, describing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel like he was being "drowning under the pressure". The McCanns Subjected to Press "Abuses" According to Gerry McCann, his family was subjected to press "intrusions" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007. He stated that the media attention exacted a "huge toll" on his family. "We endured sustained interest and inaccurate reports for many months that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said. "We are lucky. We survived. We had strong support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he stated. A Call to Restart Press Regulation Review The McCanns are among a group of people who have put their names to a letter calling on ministers to restart the second phase of the Leveson investigation, which was set up to look into the relationship between the media and the police. McCann said it was unacceptable that more than a year on, press regulation was "no longer a priority". 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 months after Madeleine went missing. Recounting the Intrusion 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 terrified, and how distressing that is for you as a parent." "It's the half-truths. It's the fabrication of stories to fit the agenda, rather than reality, which destroys people's lives," he stated. The Need for Tougher Oversight and Redress He argued this behavior 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 major reports about ourselves and alleged events," 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 has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no effective recourse," he concluded. Official Position and Evolving News Environment The Culture Secretary said that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been ruled out and that the media landscape was now drastically altered. "We share the view that the context has evolved profoundly since the second part of Leveson was recommended: the public is now more likely to get their news from the internet, which has created new and different challenges," they stated. The minister further stated that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "complex balance to get right," but conceded that "reform is required in this area". A Continued Hope for Answers The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 when she was three years old. Her father expressed that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation. "Confidential details which should have been confidential... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he explained. Speaking about hope, 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 hold the perpetrator, and other children are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he affirmed.