Gerry McCann urges Labour to have ‘courage’ to tackle the press

Gerry McCann has urged the Government to have the “courage and integrity” to scrutinise the relationship between the press and police.

The father of Madeleine McCann , who disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal in 2007, has called for the second part of the Leveson Inquiry, called in the wake of the hacking scandal at the now defunct News of the World, to be resurrected.

In 2018, then culture secretary Matt Hancock announced the second part of the inquiry – which was supposed to look into unlawful conduct within media organisations as well as relations between police and the press – would be scrapped.

He also said a controversial measure, which would have required media organisations to sign up to a state-backed regulator or risk having to pay legal costs in both sides of a libel case, even if they won, would not be put in force.

Mr McCann told ITV’s Tabloids On Trial documentary: “The Labour Party made promises to us, alongside dozens of other victims of press intrusion and criminality, that the second part of the Leveson Inquiry would proceed.

“Only Leveson part two will provide justice to those of us who have suffered at the hands of the press and end the corrupt and damaging relationship between the press and politicians.

“It is critical that this Government has the courage and integrity to keep those promises and proceed with the second half of the Leveson Inquiry.”

He previously sought a judicial review to the decision in 2018 along with his wife Kate McCann, but this was rejected by the High Court.

The McCanns have complained of press intrusion into their lives after their daughter disappeared in 2007.

In the documentary being show on ITV at 9pm on Thursday, celebrities including Notting Hill actor Hugh Grant, Welsh singer Charlotte Church and former England footballer Paul Gascoigne, along with the Duke of Sussex and former prime minister Gordon Brown appear.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told ITV News on Thursday: “We set out in our manifesto our programme for action for this government, we’ve laid that out in the King’s Speech, that clearly sets out our priorities and the second half of Leveson is not among them.

“I’ve been clear that one of the purposes of mission-driven government is to be clear about what we can achieve, the timeframe, the purpose we need to put to it, but also that it dictates our priorities in government, given the mess that we’ve inherited and we’re finding more of it every day.

“It’s really important that we keep to those priorities.”