End Of The Road For League Of Irate Dads

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday January 21, 2006

James Button Herald Correspondent in London

IT WAS 10 days before Christmas, not the best time in the lives of men separated from their children. The group of men had been to a demonstration in Londonof the fathers' rights group Fathers4Justice.

Dressed in the Santa Claus costumes they wore to the rally, they were having a pint and talking tactics in Ye Olde London Pub, near St Paul's Cathedral.

One of the men suggested: "What about kidnapping the Prime Minister's son?"

Whether it was a serious plan or just the beer talking, word of it reached police. While The Sun, which broke the story this week, talked breathlessly of police "smashing" the plot in a series of raids, men who had been present said police had in fact visited their homes for a talk.

But police did reportedly tell them they would be shot dead if they tried to carry out the kidnap attempt on Leo Blair, 5.

So ended what was probably the world's best-known fathers' rights group. A day after the plot was revealed, the despairing leader of Fathers4Justice, Matt O'Connor, said he was disbanding the organisation he founded in 2002.

"After peacefully campaigning for three years to ensure children get to see their fathers, we condemn any individual who planned this appalling outrage," he said. "We're in the business of reuniting fathers with their children, not separating them."

The 39-year-old public relations consultant always knew the value of a good line.

From the start Mr O'Connor wanted to take the group away from the fringe. He thought the only way to achieve its aim of getting a child's right to equal contact with both parents written into law was to work in the mainstream.

With his knack for getting publicity, he popularised the term McDonald's Dads, to describe men forced to snatch time in fast food outlets with children who no longer know them.

He helped stage the stunts that made the group famous: men scaling government buildings and Buckingham Palace dressed as Captain America, Batman and Robin. He reportedly came up with the idea of cartoon characters because he thought the men's children might see them on TV and think, "My dad's a super-hero".

Although the organisation pelted Blair in the House of Commons with condoms full of purple flour - prompting The Times to describe it as "the most prominent guerilla pressure group in Britain" - Mr O'Connor said he was non-violent and his heroes included Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

Under his leadership the organisation grew to claim 12,000 members. It opened branches in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the US. In January last year GQ named Mr O'Connor the 92nd most powerful man in Britain.

But the group had a harsher side, what Mr O'Connor this week called a "dark underbelly". Solicitors who took briefs for mothers in family court cases were bombarded with abusive emails; unpopular judges were visited at home.

In August 2003 anti-terrorist police investigated the posting of 60 hoax bombs to court offices. Former wives and girlfriends of some of the fathers told The Times of break-ups involving domestic violence and terrifying scenes of aggression in front of children.

A splinter faction, which resented Mr O'Connor for what they saw as his domineering approach, last year formed Real Fathers4Justice. This group is blamed for the kidnap plan but its director, Jeff Skinner, told The Guardian the idea that the plot was serious was ridiculous.

"Somebody said, 'Why don't we kidnap the Prime Minister's son'. Everyone told him, 'Don't be stupid'."

A police investigator agreed, telling The Times: "This bird was never going to fly."

But the formation of the breakaway radical wing - along with fears that some militant fathers in Liverpool are planning violent direct action - prompted police to increase surveillance of the group.

Mr O'Connor has had enough. He may also have personal reasons for quitting. After a bitter court battle with his former wife Sophie their relationship has improved.

Now he has plenty of contact with his two sons and a new baby with his partner. "I'm proud of the work we [Fathers4Justice] have done but if we're going down this road with extremist elements then it's come to an end," he said. "I don't want to be associated with an organisation getting headlines like this. I want to get a good night's sleep."

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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