Blunkett not father of boy

2005-03-06 19:37

London - Britain's former home secretary David Blunkett's row with his ex-lover, which led to his shock resignation late last year, has been rekindled over a DNA test proving he is not the father of her newborn son.

The Sun tabloid revealed the test results on Saturday, and Blunkett issued a statement shortly afterward confirming one-month-old Lorcan of Kimberly Quinn was not his.

"The test was undertaken shortly after the birth. This has established that Mr. Blunkett is not the child's father," his spokesperson said, saying he was "pleased that this has been clarified".

Blunkett, who remains a Labour MP and close ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair, is pursuing a legal bid for access to Quinn's first son William. DNA tests have established he is the father of the two-year-old boy.

But Quinn and her husband Stephen lashed out at him for speaking about the affair, while media speculated on which camp had leaked the two-week-old DNA test results to the Sun.

Quinn went so far as to break the silence she has maintained since the end of their three-year affair last summer unleashed an ugly public battle.

"The only comment we can make is that the courts have ordered us and Mr Blunkett not to discuss family matters," she told The Sunday Telegraph.

"We are sorry that Mr Blunkett has gone against the judicial system of his own country."

Quinn's comments sent a backhanded blow to Blunkett, who was forced to quit his post as home secretary - involved in law enforcement - in December after admitting his office had acted improperly on her behalf.

His office was found to have intervened to speed up the visa application of Quinn's Filipina nanny, although an independent inquiry absolved Blunkett of direct blame, since it could not prove whether he had been directly involved.

The reignited row involves three powerful figures in Britain. Stephen Quinn, 60, publishes the British edition of Vogue, while Kimberly Quinn, 44, is the American-born publisher of the influential weekly The Spectator.

And it now threatens to involve a fourth: British media widely speculated Sunday that the father of the newborn could be an Indian media mogul.

The businessman - who reportedly threatened legal action against any media which named him - was identified by a Blunkett colleague in parliament as Lorcan's father.

"All I can tell you is he is an Indian," the MP was quoted by The Sunday Times as saying.

Another source at The Spectator told The Sunday Mirror the baby appeared of "mixed-race parentage", and said he could be from an alleged affair between Quinn and "a media figure who is prominent in India".

with a general election widely expected in Britain on May 5, a renewed row could sabotage any Labour plans to bring Blunkett back into the campaign fray.

The politician won solid support in polls even during "nannygate" last year, and many bet on him to make a comeback and take another top ministerial post.

- AFP