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

Madeleine McCann’s father is calling for greater scrutiny of the UK’s media, telling the BBC that his family was subjected to “monstering” by sections of the press.

He said the media “repeatedly interfered with the investigation” into his daughter’s disappearance in 2007 and believes this has hindered the search for her.

In a rare interview, Gerry McCann told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he wants a resumption of the cancelled second phase of the Lord Leveson Inquiry, which would have examined unlawful action by the media, plus journalists’ relationships with politicians and police.

He and his wife, Kate, are among more than 30 people – including the mother of TV presenter Caroline Flack – to have signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resume the inquiry.

Actor Hugh Grant, who has been one of the leading voices in the campaign for stricter press regulation, told the BBC the prime minister should personally intervene and “have the balls” to take on the press.

Madeleine disappeared at the age of three during a family holiday in Portugal and has never been found.

Mr McCann told the BBC that for months after his daughter went missing his family had “journalists coming to the house, photographers literally ramming their 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 tremendous support – but I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning. And it was the media, primarily,” he told the BBC.

He said the inquiry’s second phase had “almost certainly” not happened because he believes that politicians in the UK are fearful of the press.

He said that in the run-up to last year’s general election, Labour politicians had committed to implementing the recommendations made in the first part of the Leveson Inquiry, and that he was “extremely disappointed” that they hadn’t done so.

The first part of the Leveson Inquiry was held from 2011 to 2012, in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

Its findings were published in 2012, and led to the creation of the industry-funded press regulator Ipso.

Christine Flack told BBC Newsnight she signed the letter over the treatment of her daughter, who took her own life in January 2020 while she was facing trial accused of assaulting her boyfriend. Ms Flack recently made a Disney+ documentary about her daughter’s final months.

Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire, Ms Flack reflected on New Year’s Day in 2020 when a picture of Caroline’s bed with blood on it was published by the Sun newspaper.

Ms Flack said: “[They] let everybody think that was her boyfriend’s blood… it was so untrue. It was Caroline’s blood she’d really hurt herself…

“That was one of the main, I think, things that led to her suicide…

“She couldn’t take what people were writing about her if they thought it was her boyfriend’s blood, and then she couldn’t take what people were saying about her if she’d done that to herself.”

In a statement to the Disney documentary, the Sun said it reported responsibly and within the law. It said the story was subject to a robust pre-publication editorial and legal process and repeated remarks from the court hearing, including a quote from her partner that Ms Flack did not hit him with a lamp.

Grant said the prime minister needed to fulfil the promises Labour made in opposition to hold a further inquiry into press misconduct and “stand up for the public against these gigantic monolithic corporations”.

“You can’t intrude into grief, you can’t hack people’s phones,” he said.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast the government had “ruled out” a second phase of the inquiry.

She said the media landscape was now “very different”, with most people consuming their news online. But she said she does “recognise that action is needed” and added that she would meet with Mr McCann.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson told the BBC it “recognises that for victims and their families, incidents of harassment and intrusion from the media cause significant distress”.

“The culture secretary has met with individuals and families who have experienced this intrusion in the past and the government is committed to ensuring that these failings are never repeated,” the spokesperson said.

The letter, which has also been signed by families of Hillsborough victims, requests a meeting with the PM, saying: “We understand that you recently had time to meet News Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch.

“We hope you will now meet with some of the British citizens whose lives have been upended by the illegal practices and abuses associated with his company.”

Downing Street confirmed on Wednesday that it had received the letter.

News UK, the UK branch of News Corp, declined to comment.

The Duke of Sussex has backed Mr McCann, saying he “stands firmly with all those harmed by unethical and unlawful press intrusion”.

In a statement, Prince Harry said he “fully supports the implementation of the Leveson Inquiry’s recommendations as essential reforms to protect the public, while safeguarding responsible, free, and fair journalism”.

A spokesperson for press regulator Ipso told the BBC that it can intervene directly in cases of press harassment.

“We encourage anyone with concerns about press behaviour to contact us for help,” it said.

In his interview with the BBC, Mr McCann added that he and his wife had “supped with the Devil” by working with the Sun in 2011, in order to have the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance reviewed – illustrating the newspaper’s influence.

“There was a front page letter published in The Sun, and [then-prime minister] David Cameron ordered the review,” he said.

“That’s the power they had. So we put our morals aside to work with them to achieve what we wanted.”

Criticising media coverage of the investigation, he said: “Published material which should have been confidential, should be passed on to the police, witness statements, many other things that have gone out.

“So if you were the perpetrator, you knew a lot more than you should have done – and as a victim, as a parent, it’s absolutely dismaying.”