A poor stunt by Fathers 4 Justice

Their plan was simple. Kidnap the prime minister's five-year-old son Leo Blair as a "symbolic gesture" to highlight the cause of fathers denied access to their children. The ordeal was only to last for a short period of time.

However the police got a wind of this and started moving.

The result: Fathers 4 Justice group suspended its activities and confirmed that police had quizzed some of its former members before Christmas.

The Sun tabloid has this exclusive today, quoting unnamed sources as saying the Special Branch officers uncovered the plot in its early stages just before Christmas and foiled it.

BBC spoke to the police and has this to say:

The plan only got as far as what police called the "chattering stage". There has
been no kidnap attempt and no arrests.

Father 4 Justice have always maintained that the British courts unfairly restrict fathers' access to children in custody disputes.

Their previous attempts to gain publicity include:

• A campaigner dressed as Batman climbed Queen Elizabeth's London residence in 2004, and
• Another pelted Blair with purple flour bombs while he addressed parliament.

How sad for this group. Is this the way for them to highlight their issues?

If this is their mentality, then the courts have been right in denying them child access.

The group's leader Matt O'Connor said last night that he was suspending the operations of the group pending enquiries into the kidnap allegations.

He also adds that his group is increasingly having it's name 'hijacked' by a growing number of militant extremists and that it would seriously consider the long term viability of the campaign.

If thats the case, it is just right that F4J clean its own backyards first.

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