LONDON – A British fathers’ rights group said Wednesday that it will disband following claims that extremist members planned to kidnap Prime Minister Tony Blair’s 5-year-old son.
Matt O’ Connor, founder of the Fathers 4 Justice group, said he had decided to end his campaign because of fears that a “lunatic militant fringe” was attempting to hijack the organization.
“For the last three years, we have done some great work and opened up a great deal of debate, but we are going to have to bring things to a close,” O’Connor said.
The Sun newspaper reported Wednesday that extremist sympathizers of the group were hatching a plan to snatch Leo Blair and hold him for a short period to highlight the misery of fathers denied access to their children.
The newspaper said that after uncovering the plot, police carried out a security assessment that included what protection should be given to Blair’s other children – sons Euan, 21, and Nicholas, 20, and daughter Kathryn, 17.
O’Connor said London’s Metropolitan Police had confirmed to him that an inquiry into a number of group members had uncovered discussions about a plan to snatch Leo Blair.
“The main concern is a lunatic militant fringe hell bent on infighting and on destroying the only vehicle for change in family law,” O’Connor said. “The militants have done us irreparable damage, and our only option is to close the group to try and stop them carrying the flame.”
Fathers 4 Justice has a history of breaching security at the heart of the British government in its campaign for more rights for fathers denied access to their children.
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