1^st May 2008 

High Court judge brands 12 year contact case 'a public scandal' 

- Family courts are ‘sterile, impotent and utterly useless’

- Vicious’ mother blamed for destroying relationship between father and daughter

A senior Court of Appeal Judge has slammed the family law system for allowing a mother, through a ‘drip, drip, drip of venom’, to alienate a 14 year old girl from her father.

 The case, which has now lasted over 12 years and has been heard in front of over 25 different judges, involved a ‘vicious’ mother systematically turning her daughter, who cannot be identified, against her father, following the breakdown of their marriage. Despite determined attempts by the father to maintain contact through the family courts, by the time the girl was nine she wrote ‘the most ghastly, horrible letter for a nine-year-old girl to write to her father’ saying she no longer wished to see him.

 By 2004 the girl, following the ‘corrupting’ influence of her mother, stated that it was her firm belief that her father had sexually abused her as a very young child – this is despite the fact that all such allegations were ruled to be wholly unfounded over ten years ago. In rejecting the final appeal against a ruling that there should be no contact between father and daughter, on the basis that the girl’s misguided beliefs would make contact distressing, Lord Justice Ward said;

 ‘The father complains bitterly, passionately and with every justification that the law is sterile, impotent and utterly useless – we have to acknowledge there is a degree of force in what he says. But the question is; what can this court do? The answer is nothing. This is a truly distressing case. It may not be untypical of many, but in some ways it borders on the scandalous. It is certainly tragic.”

He went on to clearly identify the mother as ‘ the source of this state of affairs by corrupting this girl so viciously’ and declared it to be ‘a public scandal that these things go wrong.’ Lord Justice Ward also took the unusual step of ordering that a copy of his judgement be sent to both the mother and the daughter’s solicitors, with a direction that the solicitor communicate the message to the daughter, and report back to the judge.

 Families Need Fathers Chair John Baker said “FNF is encouraged that a senior member of the judiciary has firmly spoken out on the very real failings of our family law system to protect the relationships between children and parents, but equally horrified that such a tragic case was necessary for it to happen. FNF calls on the family law system to take heed of Lord Justice Ward’s comments and take strong and decisive action to prevent more loving relationships being needlessly destroyed, and the long-term damage to children which occurs as a result.”

 This story was first reported in the February issue of FNF’s magazine McKenzie under the headline ’12 Year Fight for No Contact’.

 The comments are particularly pertinent following on from International Parental Alienation Awareness Day, held last Friday (April 25^th). More on IPAA Day, including joint research between Families Need Fathers, Mothers Apart From Their Children and the Jewish Unity For Multiple Parenting can be found at http://www.fnf.org.uk/news-events/press-releases/2008-archive/080417

-  ENDS -

 Note for editors: Families Need Fathers (FNF) is a registered charity providing information and support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, and support to divorced and separated parents, irrespective of gender or marital status. Our primary concern is the maintenance of the child’s relationship with both parents. Founded in 1974, FNF helps thousands of parents every year.

For comment or information please contact:

Nick Barnard, Director of Communications 07979 206 384

John Baker, FNF Chair 07881 644 917

Jon Davies, FNF CEO 07976 935 986

Becky Sibert, Policy & Information Officer 020 7613 5060

Please see Families Need Fathers ‘programme for change’ Father’s Day Manifesto at

http://www.fnf.org.uk/publications-resources/articles/fathers-day-manifesto