Overview
- Gerry McCann used a rare BBC Radio 4 interview to argue that parts of the press repeatedly interfered with the 2007 investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, including publishing confidential material.
- More than 30 signatories, including the McCanns, called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to restart the inquiry’s second phase examining media–police relationships.
- Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy reiterated that the second phase has been ruled out and said ministers must balance victims’ protections with a free press, while offering to meet McCann.
- McCann described sustained intrusion after 2007, citing journalists at the family home and photographers ramming cameras against a car window with his twins inside.
- He noted recent case context, including the harassment conviction of Julia Wandelt and the uncharged status of prime suspect Christian Brueckner, who was released from a German prison in September, as he maintained that hope of finding Madeleine remains slim but not extinguished.