Madeleine McCann's father tells BBC how his family was hounded by press

Madeleine McCann's father has requested that the UK's media be scrutinized more closely, telling the BBC that his family was monsterized by sections of the press. He said the media repeatedly interfered with the probe into his daughter's disappearance in 2007 and claims that this has hindered the hunt for her. In a rare interview with Gerry McCann, he wants to reopen the Lord Leveson Inquiry's postponement of the failed second phase of the investigation, which would have investigated unlawful conduct by journalists and police. The Duke of Sussex has backed him, saying he "strongly supports all those affected by unethical and unlawful press intrusion.

Madeleine McCann vanished at the age of three during a family holiday in Portugal and has never been found. Prince Harry said in a tweet that he

fully supports the introduction of the Leveson Inquiry's recommendations as vital steps to protect the public,

he said, while still ensuring honest, free, and fair journalism.

When his daughter went missing, Mr McCann told the BBC that

journalists came to the house, photographers literally ramming our cameras against our car window when we had two-year-old twins in the back who were terrified.

We are lucky we survived. We had a lot of help, but I can tell you that there were times I felt like I was drowning. It was primarily the media,

he told the BBC.

It was what was going on and the way things were being presented, where you were being suffocated and buried, and it seemed there wasn't a way out.

Press oversight is no longer a priority" after Labour's coming to office, according to Mr McCann. More than 30 people have signed a letter from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer asking that he and his wife, Kate, withdraw the decision taken by the previous Conservative government in 2018 not to hold the second phase of the Leveson Inquiry. The families of Hillsborough victims' families are among the other signatories, as well as television presenter Caroline Flack.

The letter, which was seen by the BBC, suggests a meeting with the prime minister, saying:

We know that you recently took time to speak with News Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch.

We hope you will now speak with some of the British citizens whose lives have been ruined by the company's unlawful activities and abuses.

It's clear that press barons will meet the prime minister, but the people who have been in their care are unable to,

Mr McCann told the Today show. News UK, the News Corp's UK branch, declined to comment. The government had ruled out a second phase of the investigation, according to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on BBC Breakfast. With the majority of people consuming their news online, she said the media landscape had become very different.I do know that action is needed,

she said, and that she would speak with Mr McCann. In the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal, the Leveson Inquiry's first part was held from 2011 to 2012. Its findings were published in 2012 and led to the establishment of the industry-funded press regulator Ipso. Mr McCann told the BBC that the second phase of the investigation had

most likely" not occur because he believes that politicians in the United Kingdom are afraid of the press.

Labour politicians had committed to implementing the recommendations made in the first phase of the Leveson Inquiry's first year's general election, according to him, who was very surprised that they hadn't done so.

We're over a year into the administration, and there haven't been any improvements,

Trump said.

It's not acceptable to me now, more than a year, that Leveson and press control are no longer a priority.

Recognises that for victims and their families, instances of bullying, and media intrusion have caused significant distress,a DCMS spokesperson told the BBC.The Culture Secretary has spoken to individuals and families who have suffered with this intrusion in the past, and the government has pledged to ensure that these mistakes are never repeated," they said.

'We put our morals aside'

Mr McCann said he and his wife spokened with the Devil by working with the Sun in 2011 in order to have the inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance investigated, demonstrating the newspaper's power.

In The Sun, there was a front-page letter sent out, and [then-prime minister] David Cameron ordered the investigation,

he wrote.

That's the power they had. So we set our morals aside and began to work with them to achieve what we needed.

Published information that should have been classified should be passed on to the police, witness statements, and several other items that have gone out,criticizing media coverage of the investigation.You know a lot more than you should have done if you were the perpetrator, and as a victim, as if a parent, it's absolutely disconcerting.

'Making stories up'

In November 2011, Mr McCann gave a witness testimony to the Leveson Inquiry on behalf of himself and his wife. In it, he outlined news outlets making headlines about them, as well as a

sustained, inaccurate, and inflammatory series of headlines in a number of journals that gave the appearance that we were in any way responsible for or involved in Madeleine's disappearance. He also stated that complete transcripts from Kate McCann's personal diary had been published around the time their daughter's disappearance. The diary had been confiscated by police in Portugal as part of their probe into Madeleine's disappearance, and the couple were

unsure as to how [News of the World] obtained a copy,the probe found.Madeleine's been missing for 18 years,