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U.K. "kidnap'' group disbanded

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Fathers4Justice, the group which was alleged to have been behind a suspected "plot'' to kidnap Prime Minister Tony Blair's five-year-old son Leo, has been disbanded amid accusations that it had been hijacked by extremist elements whose actions were hurting its cause.

The group was founded about four years ago by divorced and separated fathers to demand more access to their children but a series of sensational stunts such as throwing a purple powder at Mr. Blair in the Commons and climbing the gates of Buckingham Palace has damaged its image.

Its founder Matt O'Connor, a divorced father with two children, said he had decided to disband it after Tuesday's disclosure in The Sun newspaper that a "lunatic fringe'' in the group had discussed abducting Mr. Blair's son over the Christmas period to highlight their grievances.

Mr. O'Connor said the organisation had "come to its natural conclusion'' and new ways were needed to continue the campaign.

"There may be a repeat of these sorts of antics and it would do serious damage to the debate and what we have achieved,'' he said, adding: "We will speak to other groups such as Families Need Fathers and will not leave people in the lurch.''

Meanwhile, Jolly Stanesby, one of the men questioned by the police in connection with the alleged "plot'', said the whole thing had been blown out of proportion to discredit the campaign. He acknowledged that "something'' might have been mentioned when he and some of his colleagues were "drinking'' in a pub but denied that there had been any "serious'' discussion.

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