Missing Madeleine's father calls for media restraint

EDINBURGH, Aug 25 (Reuters) The father of missing British four-year-old Madeleine McCann called today for the media to show more restraint, saying they had never expected so much coverage and it had now become out of control.

Madeleine went missing from her bedroom on May 3 as her parents were dining nearby at a resort in southern Portugal.

Despite an international search and high-profile publicity campaign involving such figures as Pope Benedict, J K Rowling and David Beckham, there has been no sign of her since.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Media Festival, Gerry McCann said they had originally started the campaign to raise awareness but felt that it had now got out of control.

''I don't think necessarily having newspaper headlines with the image of Madeleine being thrust on to people every single day actually helps,'' he said.

''There is the campaign which will continue at a pretty low format (but) what we have no real control over is the way the news story is covered.

''Clearly we have seen ... irresponsible reporting.'' The story of Madeleine has dominated the British and Portuguese media since she disappeared.

Tabloid and broadsheet newspapers have continually carried pictures of the blond-haired child on their front page while news channels have camped outside the resort in southern Portugal waiting for a development.

McCann said he thought the case had initially attracted lots of coverage because many of the reporters were parents themselves. But he said the continued scrutiny and speculation had now become very unpleasant, with much of the coverage lacking any substance.

McCann said his family, who have stayed in Portugal since Madeleine went missing, were now starting to think about returning to Britain as their continued presence could be driving the media interest.

''Unfortunately the human interest side of this is enormous now.'' REUTERS RAR VV1718