Blunkett row heads to court

2004-12-03 20:39

London - Home Secretary David Blunkett took his battle to win paternity rights over his ex-lover's son to court Friday in the latest chapter of a scandal that has transfixed British politics.

Blunkett, a key ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair, is in the front line of government, but the fallout of his three-year affair with a married publisher, Kimberly Quinn, has raised speculation that his career may not survive.

The end of their relationship sparked a bitter public row that has led to allegations that he abused his powers to speed up a residency visa for Quinn's nanny.

Blunkett got the all-clear on Friday from a judge to proceed with his case to win access to the two-year-old boy he claims is his own.

High Court judge Ernest Ryder rejected the argument that for health reasons Quinn, who is seven months pregnant and currently in hospital due to stress, needed the case adjourned until April.

Neither Blunkett, 57, nor Quinn, 44, attended Friday's hearing - the only one that will be held publicly - but the interior minister voiced relief in a statement afterwards that his legal battle could continue.

"I'm naturally relieved at today's judgment so I can continue my attempts to gain access to my son," Blunkett said.

"I have never wanted anything about my private life and 'A's' paternity to be in the public domain and would never have gone to the courts if there were another way of getting informal access to him," he said, referring to his son anonymously in line with British legal restrictions.

"I have not seen 'A' since August," he added, the month his affair with Quinn ended.

Last week he was forced to initiate a public inquiry following allegations that he helped fast-track an application by Quinn's Filipina nanny to remain in Britain indefinitely. He denies any wrongdoing or abuse of his authority.

The nanny, Leoncia Casalme, 36, at the time worked for 44-year-old Quinn, the US-born publisher of the Spectator, a conservative political weekly.

Blunkett on Tuesday apologised for having given Quinn a voucher for train travel normally reserved for the spouses of parliament members, and said he would pay for it.

Blair and cabinet heavyweights have rallied to the home secretary's side in the weeks since the media turned the Blunkett-Quinn affair into a front-page story.

Tough operator

Blair's official spokesperson said the British leader considered the paternity case as purely personal, adding: "David Blunkett continues to do the job he has to do for the government and the country."

Chancellor Gordon Brown said Blunkett was "a man of great character and great integrity, and he will keep doing his job to the best of his ability, and the best of his ability is something that is to the credit of our country".

With 34 years of politics behind him, Blunkett has proved a tough operator unafraid to trample on the feelings of those he once labelled "bleeding-heart liberals" in his tough anti-terrorism and immigration policies.

- AFP