Plot to Kidnap Blairs Son.............
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 4:34 am
Plot to Kidnap Blair's Son `Grotesque,' Fathers Campaigner Says Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- An alleged plot to kidnap U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair's youngest son, reported in The Sun newspaper today, has been attacked as ``grotesque'' by the founder of the fathers' rights group said to be linked to the plan.
The newspaper said that men on the ``lunatic fringe'' of Fathers 4 Justice, which has organized a series of stunts to publicize the problems of fathers denied access to their children, wanted to snatch five-year-old Leo Blair and hold him briefly.
Police and Blair's office both refused to comment on the story. It is police practice to confirm when suspects have been arrested or charged. The Sun, which said the police had ``smashed'' the kidnap plan, did not reveal its sources or any details of the plot.
Matt O'Connor, the founder of Fathers 4 Justice, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio the report ``puts into question the whole existence of this organization, because I certainly wouldn't want to be associated with anything like this.''
Stunts by Fathers 4 Justice have include flour-bombing Tony Blair while he was speaking in Parliament in 2004 and a protester dressed as Batman scaling the walls of Buckingham Palace, home of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2002, The Sun's Sunday sister paper, the News of The World, reported a plan to kidnap the former Spice Girls singer Victoria Beckham, wife of footballer David Beckham, and their children. While that story led to armed police arresting five men, no one was ever charged in relation to the claims.
The newspaper said that men on the ``lunatic fringe'' of Fathers 4 Justice, which has organized a series of stunts to publicize the problems of fathers denied access to their children, wanted to snatch five-year-old Leo Blair and hold him briefly.
Police and Blair's office both refused to comment on the story. It is police practice to confirm when suspects have been arrested or charged. The Sun, which said the police had ``smashed'' the kidnap plan, did not reveal its sources or any details of the plot.
Matt O'Connor, the founder of Fathers 4 Justice, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio the report ``puts into question the whole existence of this organization, because I certainly wouldn't want to be associated with anything like this.''
Stunts by Fathers 4 Justice have include flour-bombing Tony Blair while he was speaking in Parliament in 2004 and a protester dressed as Batman scaling the walls of Buckingham Palace, home of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2002, The Sun's Sunday sister paper, the News of The World, reported a plan to kidnap the former Spice Girls singer Victoria Beckham, wife of footballer David Beckham, and their children. While that story led to armed police arresting five men, no one was ever charged in relation to the claims.