Roger 'The Court Jester' crawford

Meppershall dad in rooftop demo over fathers’ rights

2012-01-30T12:57:00.000-08:00

A DAD from Meppershall has taken part in a rooftop demonstration in Justice Secretary Ken Clarke’s constituency in support of fathers’ rights.

On Saturday, Roger Crawford, of Shefford Road, scaled the roof of a Conservative club opposite Mr Clarke’s constituency office in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire.

The 63-year-old was dressed as a court jester and was joined by fellow member of campaign group New Fathers 4 Justice, Jem Pogue.

Mr Clarke’s homes in Rushcliffe and London were simultaneously targeted by fellow members of New Fathers 4 Justice and Real Fathers for Justice.

Mr Crawford has not seen his only child, Heather, for 18 years, after what he calls “a torrid time in the family courts” fighting for visiting rights.

New Fathers 4 Justice are campaigning for fathers and mothers to have equal rights to see their children following separation.

Mr Crawford said: “Ken Clarke is our number one target. He’s Justice Secretary and almost now alone in the Cabinet in saying that no parent should have the right to see their child in law.

“The rest of the Cabinet is saying what we have been saying for years – in law every parent should have a right to see their children, unless there is a very good reason not to.”

He said Mr Clarke’s office did not make an official response to Saturday’s demonstration, but that they received a lot of support from passers-by.

Last year, in another New Fathers 4 Justice demonstration, Mr Crawford and Mr Pogue both climbed on Prime Minister David Cameron’s constituency office roof in Witney.

Angry protesters take to roof of area's Conservative Club

2012-01-30T09:23:00.000-08:00

PROTESTERS caused a stir in the centre of West Bridgford after taking to the roof of the town's Conservative Club.

Two activists from the New Fathers for Justice group, dressed as Superman and a court jester, got on to the roof of the building in Rectory Road and remained there from around 9am until 1pm on Saturday.

They shouted through loudspeakers while around a dozen other protesters gathered beneath them on the street.

The group say they were protesting at Justice Secretary and Rushcliffe MP Ken Clarke's failure to reform family law.

Banners saying "Ken Clarke will not give fathers equal rights" and "We're fathers, not criminals" were hung from the building.

The protesters agreed to leave after they were asked to get down by the police. No arrests were made.

The group believes Mr Clarke, also MP for Rushcliffe, does not support fathers separated from their children.

Spokesperson Rich Adams said: "The whole present Family Court system is a complete pantomime farce at best.

"Fathers are being made redundant in the family courts.

"The UK family law works on the basis that no evidence is needed, the mother's word is good enough.

"If a mother or custodial parent informs the court they think the child may be at risk, the court has no alternative but to side with custodial parent usually the mother.

"It is being abused each year by unscrupulous partners to stop kind, loving and hardworking fathers from seeing their children."

Gary Roe, 44, from Heanor took part in the protest.

He said: "I'm one of the lucky ones because now I do get to see my daughter."

Mr Clarke was unavailable for comment.

Dads stage sit in on Clegg’s roof

2011-10-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

MEMBERS of a fathers’ campaign group staged a sit-in on Nick Clegg’s office roof to protest at ‘unfair rules’ regarding access to their children.

The men - all in fancy dress, and part of an organisation called New Fathers 4 Justice - staged the hour-long protest at the Deputy Prime Minister’s office in Nether Green, Sheffield.

They held a banner reading, ‘The family justice system is not in the child’s best interest’.

James Moffat, aged 30, a former chef from Eckington, said his children live in Portsmouth - where he travels to see them for 90 minutes once a fortnight.

He said: “Nick Clegg promised before the election that he would improve access rights but he has done nothing to ensure that happens so far. All we want is a fair deal.”

Trucker Garry Roe, 42, dressed as the Grim Reaper, travelled from Heanor in Derbyshire to take part in the demonstration.

He said: “All I want is for the law to recognise fathers have rights too. We’ve written to our local MPs because we want equal rights, but we’ve been ignored time and again. So now we’re here.”

Roger Crawford, 63, had travelled from Bedford.

“Nick Clegg promised grandparents the right to see their grandchildren,” he said. “But how is he going to achieve that if parents themselves don’t even have equal rights?”

A spokesman for Sheffield Hallam MP Mr Clegg said: “Peaceful, lawful protest is always welcome.

“However the roof of the constituency office, and our next door neighbours’ roof, is private property and their actions could have proven dangerous to themselves and others.”

New Fathers 4 Justice’ activists climb on Nick Clegg’s constituency office roof

2011-10-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

At 10.30 am this morning four ‘New Fathers 4 Justice’ activists climbed on the roof of Nick Clegg’s constituency office roof in Sheffield.

This was our first rooftop protest against the Lib Dems and now they have gone into bed with the Tories they should come out from under the covers and support equality for fathers or be targeted with further protests.

Roger ‘Court Jester’ Crawford from Meppershal, James Moffat and Jemma Hunt from Sheffield, Paddy McQue from Hartlepool and Garry Roe ‘Grim Reaper Roe from Heanor spent 3 wet and windy hours on Cleggs constituency roof.

They came down after a representative from Nick Clegg’s agreed to speak to them. Unfortunately this representative was as incompetent as Nick Clegg and struggled to remember the address of the Deputy Prime minsters office in London. We can see he chooses his staff well !!

Meppershall fathers' rights activist targets David Cameron's office

2011-07-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

A DAD has scaled the roof of Prime Minister David Cameron’s constituency office to protest about fathers’ rights.

Roger Crawford, of Shefford Road in Meppershall, was one of three members of campaign group New Fathers 4 Justice who took part in the rooftop demonstration in Witney, Oxfordshire, last Thursday.

The 62-year-old said: “I haven’t seen my own daughter, Heather, for 17 years now and she’s my only child.

“I just wanted visiting rights but I had a torrid time in the family courts. I found them adversarial rather than helpful and that’s why I joined Fathers 4 Justice and then New Fathers 4 Justice.”

Dressed as a court jester, Mr Crawford protested on the roof of the PM’s constituency office for more than four hours. He was accompanied by Jeremy Pogue, 50, from Wales, and Archit Ssan, 46, and from London. They held up banners, with one reading ‘two parents are better than one’.

“Obviously there are some exceptions, but time and time again it has been proved that children are best brought up knowing both parents,” Mr Crawford said.

He said that, due to “parental alienation, with her mother having a great deal of influence”, his daughter, who is now 19, has said she does not want to see him.

“It’s been very hard,” he said. “When she was 18 I wrote to her and said it was really up to her now but that I still care.”

He continued: “I can’t understand how someone like David Cameron, who has lost a child himself and said it affected him so badly he almost gave up politics, can ignore us.

“Parents – mother or father – have no right in law to see their child.

“He promised before the election that he would grant a legal status to parents and grandparents. He’s renaged on that.

“There is a review of family law, but it won’t include this.”

Asked if Mr Cameron’s office had responded to the demonstration, Mr Crawford said that the protest had been met with “a defeaning silence”.

He added: “We are going to step up our campaign now. I will be up to more mischief before long.”

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that officers were on the scene to observe the demonstration, but that no action was taken.

Roger 'The Court Jester' Crawford at the MOJ protest yesterday

2010-09-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Roger 'The Court Jester' Crawford at the MOJ protest yesterday

Roger said 'We had fourteen at this very low-key demo. But a huge (friendly) police presence, after Arch's antics. And a lot of public interest. The security staff at the MoJ were laughing and joking with Arch, and we could not have had a more relaxed and interested reception at the MoJ'

'I contacted the Ministry of Justice this morning and they will meet a representative from New Fathers 4J ustice, the Equal Parenting Alliance, and the various Grandparents groups on a day in the near future, to be confirmed'

General Statement From Representatives Of;

New Fathers 4 Justice, The Equal Parenting Alliance, Real Fathers for Justice, Grandparents Action Group And Grandparents Apart

FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE FAMILY LAW REVIEW PANEL

We are very concerned that there is no disenfranchised parent or grandparent on the Family Law review panel, or anyone affected by forced adoption. Some of our number here today are deeply sceptical of yet another review body looking into Family Law, and have mentioned that there may be some on the panel who may feel that their own interests are best served by keeping the ‘status quo’. However, we do earnestly hope that this review will take into account the views of people like these and others who feel wronged, damaged, and disenfranchised by the current Family Court system in this country.

We, as representatives of these people, believe it is in the best interests of families and therefore of society as a whole that the following two changes are made without any further delay.

These changes will go a long way to meet the financial reductions required of the Ministry of Justice, and free-up time and the staff to deal with serious child-care cases.

(i) Give each parent an automatic presumption, a right in law, to see their children after divorce or separation. This alone would stop up to 100,000 cases going to Court in the first place, and would in almost all cases enable grandparents to have a meaningful part in the lives of their grandchildren.

(ii) Make the Family Courts open and accountable, bringing them into line with the Crown and Magistrates Courts. Concerns over anonymity and privacy are unfounded as there are already measures to protect privacy in open court. This measure would stop the bias and corruption so many have experienced in the secret Family Courts.

As a 'rider' to this, we would recommend that agreements made in mediation should be recognised in the Courts if one party fails to keep to the agreements made.

We urge you to make these changes for the sake of countless children, parents and grandparents, and help therefore to make a fairer and happier society for everyone.

My name is Lisa Harris.

I’m responding to the ‘call for evidence’ questionnaire attached to the family justice review for myself and on behalf of my two sisters.

When we were children our parents separated, and because of how the family court system operates, we lost contact with our loving and dedicated father. For years we grew up without his essential input in our lives despite every humanly perceivable effort on his part to father us. Those lost years and contact are too precious to quantify, but we want to say emphatically, that it clearly harmed our childhood and quality of upbringing.

Our dad constantly fought against the intransigent family court system that continuously dismissed his claims, and evidence of how your court procedures harmed our upbringing. There was absolutely no justification whatsoever in our father being excluded from our childhood. He spent years exhausting his money, time and nerves trying gain justice for us whilst the court system spent the same years and wasted almost £1 million of public money maintaining their biased procedures against our interests.

During this period of estrangement the family courts endeavoured to keep secret the fact that our mothers boyfriend abused us while ignoring all of our wishes to see our dad. They also ignored us when we tried to tell them our mothers boyfriend was hurting us all and making our lives a misery. It was only when we were old enough to run away to our father did the abuse stop and we got our dad back.

You never listened to him; so now in your ‘call for evidence’ in this latest enquire, we want you to listen to us and take our testimony AS EVIDANCE. But, before any of that, for the sake of a little human decency. Stop saying the corruption and prejudice your institution practices, is in our best interest. It’s breathtakingly callous to hear that jingo, and it’s so untrue; you behave with the narcissism of holocaust deniers when you pronounce your prejudice as in the child’s best interest.

We take exceptional offence to any public official who sustains this anti-father bias by falsely claiming that it is in the best interests of the children. You should be deeply ashamed of yourselves for constantly fobbing off the public with that highly offensive jingo. To our experience, you appear to be callously indignant in the way you bully silence from those who try to plead reason with you. You abuse the power of your office, and facilitate harm to countless children all over the country, by what is clearly prejudice against good fathers and say it’s in the children’s best interest.

As young adults we have had time and mind to examine the huge collection of legal documents our father has collected from your procedures. We can see for ourselves how prejudiced and falsely condemning your institution is.

There is also more than enough evidence, statistical and anecdotal, from various groups and sources detailing the bias through which you operate, and we want you to regard it seriously.

‘Arbeit macht frei’; those are the German words found on the signs above the entrances of Nazi concentration camps. The meaning approximately translate to ‘work sets you free’.

We relate to the insincerity and insult of ‘work sets you free’ in a similar way to how your officials say “in the child’s best interests”.

Stop the destruction of the lives of multitudes of British children which has led to the creation of today's broken Britain!

Stop rationalising your prejudice!

Stop issuing your insulting arrogant spin!

Stop wasting vast amounts of public money facilitating anti-father bias!

IN THE CHILD’S BEST INTEREST.

Protestors scale David Cameron's office

2010-08-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

Fathers' rights campaigners have spent nearly seven hours on the roof of David Cameron's constituency office in Oxfordshire.

The three 'New Fathers for Justice' members were dressed as Superman, the Hulk and a court jester.

They managed to scale the building in Witney, which is home to the West Oxfordshire Conservative Association, and is also David Cameron's constituency office, at about 7am this morning.

Heart's been told the campaigners won't be returning tomorrow, but haven't ruled out going back up at some point in the future.

The Prime Minister wasn't in Witney during the protests.

New Fathers 4 Justice protest goes all the way to the top

2010-08-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

NEW Fathers 4 Justice activists scaled the roof of David Cameron’s constituency office in Witney yesterday.

Shortly after 6.40am, three protesters climbed the building in High Street.

The group says its members will keep returning to the town until the Prime Minister meets their demands for equal rights for both parents.

They shouted through megaphones and put up a banner on the roof.

Activists included Roger Crawford, dressed as a court jester, Archit Ssan, as the Incredible Hulk, and Jeremy Pogue as Superman.

Mr Crawford, 61, of Bedfordshire, said: “We will do this until David Cameron deigns to speak to us.”

Fathers' pressure group doorstep PM's home

2010-07-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

A pressure group campaigning for fathers to have equal access rights to their children after break-up or divorce met at the weekend in Witney in an attempt to convince residents to lobby David Cameron to change the law.

On Saturday, July 24, about 25 members of New Fathers 4 Justice met up on Wood Green, outside the Three Pigeons Inn, before taking their protest into Witney town centre. Dressed as comic book superhero characters, they toured the town with loudspeakers and horns demanding that the Prime Minister come out and met them to discuss their grievances.

Nigel Ace, the spokesperson for New Fathers 4 Justice, said: “The government is not giving fathers equal status in order to see their children after separation or divorce. Basically, if mothers stop contact, hundreds of thousands of dads each year are stopped from seeing their children. That can lead into protracted court cases that can go on for years. One of the people I came up with today has been fighting since 2004, another chap has not seen his daughter since she was one, and she has now turned 18.”

Witney Town Council had warned the group that camping on the public green in Woodstock Road would be breaking the law, but they threatened to disperse across the area and “cause mayhem” if they were stopped from camping. On Sunday the protestors, escorted by the police, went to the Prime Minister’s house in Dean in the morning and made declarations over a loudspeaker. It is not thought the PM was in at the time of the visit.

Samantha Haynes from Wootton, was one of a number of women who also attended the event, dubbed ‘Witney’s Glastonbury festival of Fatherhood’. Dressed as Wonder Woman, she said: “I’ve got four children, and I’m allowed one of them full-time, the other three I see 18 hours a year. So I’m a great believer in New Fathers 4 Justice and think we should have equal status, as two parents are better than one.”

Organiser Nigel Ace also leafleted the West Oxfordshire Conservative Association office at Waterloo House wearing a David Cameron mask, and said the protest could be organised on a monthly basis in the future.

Activists Visit PM David Cameron's House in Dean

2010-07-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Video at

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=471746899017

Dad response to MP's 'Wet Blanket' action on Family Law reform

2010-06-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

Activist have once again visited the Alconbury home of Justice Minister Jonathon Djanogly. New Fathers 4 Justice feel that he is about as much use as a wet blanket on the issue of fathers rights and Family Law reform. In fact every coalition MP should now look to their rooftops as fathers feel betrayed.

Dads picket MP’s home in fight for courts shake-up

2010-06-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Julian Makey Cambridge News
04/06/2010 10:13

Fathers campaigning for equal access to their children will demonstrate outside the home of Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly.

New Fathers 4 Justice has targeted Mr Djanogly following his appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, where he will have responsibility for family courts and legal aid.

The protesters, dressed in superhero costumes, plan to pitch purple justice tents outside the MP’s home in Alconbury on June 12 and hope he will come out to discuss their campaign, which includes an open family court system.

Captain Equality, from New Fathers 4 Justice, who declined to give his real name, said: “We will go round in our usual peaceful, tragic-comic state and we will be asking him to meet us.

“If he doesn’t come out and say something, there will be rooftops involved at a later date.”

Captain Equality, who was involved in a rooftop protest at Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman’s home, said the protest at Mr Djanogly’s home was one of several planned in the run-up to a demonstration at Prime Minister David Cameron’s home on July 24.

He said the group was not linked to the former Fathers 4 Justice organisation, which hit the headlines when members dressed as superheroes climbed buildings to draw attention to their campaign for legal access to their children.

It was wound up after an alleged plot to kidnap former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s son Leo in 2006.

Captain Equality, who said he had a two-year battle for access to his daughter, said: “We want to see the secret family courts brought into the open like magistrates’ courts and Crown courts, where they are open to the public and the media.

“We feel they should bring the family courts into line with the other courts for the sake of transparency.”

He added: “We are campaigning for equality for fathers so they can see their children when they want to.

“We don’t have equality – we are the last in line.”

Mr Djanogly was unavailable for comment.

New Dads for Justice stage a demo

2010-04-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

DENNIS the Menace, Bananaman and Captain Equality were among the superheroes who travelled through Oxfordshire as part of a New Fathers for Justice demonstration.

About 40 fathers – and some mothers – from across the country gathered in the centre of Oxford on Saturday.

The group travelled the streets in two battle buses before heading to Witney to Conservative Party leader David Cameron’s constituency off-ice, where they met Henry Bellingham, Conservative shadow spokesman for justice, who spoke to them for 30 minutes.

The protesters also held placards and brandished David Cameron masks.
New Fathers for Justice national co-ordinator Nigel Ace, from Bristol, who was dressed as Captain Equality, hailed the event as a success.

He said: “We had a lot of people coming up to us and saying they are all facing these problems, so we had a good response.

“It got a bit hot under these suits but it was worth it.”

New Fathers for Justice campaigns for fathers to have more equal access to their children following family breakdown. Members have staged a number of high profile protests in Oxfordshire.

In November, campaigners dressed as superheroes held two demonstrations, one in Oxford and one in Witney.

They protested outside the court building in St Aldate’s, and at least one protester attempted to scale the side of the building. They later gathered outside Mr Cameron’s office in Witney, where they brandished an effigy of Gordon Brown but were prevented from setting light to it by police.

And in June 2009, two dads dressed as a superhero and a court jester climbed Carfax Tower, unfurling banners at the top during a three hour demo.

The original Fathers for Justice disbanded in 2008 and New Fathers for Justice took its place. They dress as superheroes because they believe that is how fathers should be treated.

FATHERS TALK TO SHADOW JUSTICE MINISTER IN WITNEY

2010-04-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

Oxford Protest

2009-11-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

New Fathers 4 Justice in Oxford city centre protest

2009-11-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

A campaigner for father’s rights has attempted to scale the roof of Oxford Magistrates’ Court.

Roger Crawford, 60, a member of Fathers 4 Justice launched a protest this morning.

Mr Crawford, from Meppershall, in Bedfordshire, was dressed as superman as he attempted to climb the building in St Aldate’s earlier this morning, before being caught by security staff.

It is believed the campaigners have now taken their protest to the street outside.

‘Superheroes’ want MP’s help

2009-11-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

A SELECTION of superheroes on Wednesday staged two protests in Oxfordshire in a bid to gain more rights for fathers.

The New Fathers for Justice campaigners dressed as superheroes, including Spiderman and Batman, for their demonstrations in Oxford and Witney.The group began protesting at Oxford Combined Court Centre at about 8am.

At least one protester tried unsuccessfully to scale the side of the St Aldate’s building.

The campaigners later gathered outside David Cameron’s office in Witney at about 2pm.

They brandished an effigy of Gordon Brown, but were prevented from burning the ‘guy’ by police.

Roger Crawford, 61, who dressed as a jester, said: “We've dressed as superheroes because all dads are superheroes.

“It also brings an air of levity to a serious topic — we don't want to alienate anyone.

“Wherever we go, the response is always supportive.“ Jason Sands, 36, said: “We are trying to get a message across to David Cameron that we want him to support us.

“This Labour Government has done nothing to help us.

“Fathers for Justice has got smaller.

“But we want to let Mr Cameron know that it’s still here, and a lot of people are going through it badly.”

Angry father wrestled from court rooftop

2009-11-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

An angry father has been wrestled down from a court rooftop by security while protesting for fathers' rights.

Roger Crawford, of Shefford Road, Meppershall, climbed on to the first floor roof of the family court in Oxford on Wednesday.

He was trying to climb on to the second floor rooftop, to protest against the court system, which he said has denied him reasonable access to his daughter for 15 years, but was stopped by security.

Mr Crawford, who is a member of New Fathers 4 Justice, said: "I have been through the courts to try to get access to my daughter, but I am allowed no contact with her when I have done nothing wrong."

Southampton Protest

2009-10-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

New Fathers 4 Justice protest hijacks city Walls

2009-10-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

CAMPAIGNERS from New Fathers 4 Justice dressed up as superheroes to hijack Southampton's old town walls in noisy protest this afternoon.

The protestors donned Batman, Superman, and Spiderman costumes and unfurled banners from the bridge near the city's historic Bargate demanding equal rights for dads over a megaphone.

Shoppers and motorists passing below waved or honked in support while around half a dozen police gathered close by.

The demonstration, which went off peacefully, was being held in support of Lee Moorman, 30, from Chandlers Ford, who is battling for equal contact with his son.

Devon dad Mark Harris author of 'Family Court Hell' who was jailed for waving to his kids also set fire to wheelbarrow of his court contact papers, a case which cost the taxpayer over a million pounds and lasted 10 years.

Angry dad takes protest to rooftops

2009-06-27T03:11:00.000-07:00

Meppershall dad dresses up as court jester in fight to see his daughter
An angry father who has been banned from seeing his teenage daughter for the past 15 years, took drastic action by protesting for fathers' rights on a tower rooftop.

60-year-old Roger Crawford climbed to the top of the Carfax Tower in Oxford where his estranged daughter and wife live, where he dressed up as a court jester and protested against the family court system.

He took part in the protest last Thursday afternoon, along with a another New Fathers 4 Justice member, who dressed up as the Incredible Hulk.

Mr Crawford, of Shefford Road, Meppershall, held a banner over the roof top saying ' Fathers are for life, not just conception' and another with a message to his daughter saying 'Heather' and 'My love for you.'

He told the Chronicle: "I have been through the courts to try to get access to my daughter, but I am allowed no contact with her when I have done nothing wrong.

"The court system really is a compete joke, they seem to punish non-resident parents and that's what they have done to me.

"They have stopped me seeing my daughter for no good reason."

He added: "I am extremely angry with the whole process and I will keep protesting in Oxford in the hope that Heather hears about it and maybe one day will realise how much I care for her and how much I want contact with her.

"But I'm not doing this for me I'm doing this for fathers everywhere. It's just not right how they are treated."

Mr Crawford who has already protested twice in Oxford this year, was denied access to his now 17-year-old daughter Heather, when his relationship broke down.

He carried on seeing her until she was two and half years old, but was denied access after that point by her mother.

He went through the court system, but despite a High Court judge ruling that full access should be given to him, the family court in Oxford denied him any access to Heather.

He added: "Not being allowed contact with Heather has just been awful.

"I would describe the feeling as a living bereavement.

"Of course no parent should ever have to bury a child I understand that must be awful, but it is it similar.

"In some ways it's worse because you know that your child is out there and you're not allowed to contact them.

"I will never give up hope, that's what keeps me going and I know hat there is a powerful bond between a parent and children and that just shouldn't be broken.

"I just hope that one day Heather will realise that as well."

A video of the protest has been posted onto popular website YouTube.

Sent To The Tower By Family Law

2009-06-20T03:08:00.000-07:00

Pair stage protest at top of Carfax Tower

Protestors dressed as the Incredible Hulk and a court jester have staged a demonstration on top of Oxford's Carfax Tower.

They're both members of a group calling itself 'New Fathers 4 Justice' - a splinter group from the original Fathers4Justice, which has now disbanded.

One of the protestors, Roger Crawford, 60, claims he hasn't been able to see his daughter for 15 years. The pair paid to enter the Carfax Tower just before 11.30am on Friday 19 June. When at the top, they started their demonstration, unfurling banners, and refusing to come down.

Roger Crawford, 60, from Bedfordshire, and Peter Smith, 33, from Bristol, were given a 5pm deadline by police to come down.

The protest ended just after 2.00pm when a pre-booked group of schoolchildren turned up hoping to go up the Tower. The protestors decided to end their demonstration so the school trip could go ahead.

No arrests were made and both protesters left the Tower waving to the passing cars and crowds watching.

Fathers say new play highlights their message

2009-03-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

A fathers’ group staged a demonstration outside the new play by Bristol playwright Catherine Johnson.

Half a dozen members of New Fathers 4 Justice, an offshoot of the original campaign group for fathers’ rights, gathered in their trademark superhero costumes outside Bristol’s Old Vic Theatre in King Street.

Captain America, two Incredibles and Batman were among those holding banners and handing out leaflets to people going to see the play Suspension. Johnson, who became a household name after the success of Abba musical-turned-film Mamma Mia!, was inspired to write her new work after the Father’s 4 Justice protest on Clifton Suspension Bridge in 2004.

The demonstrators said they were there to support the play, and wanted to highlight the issue of fathers’ rights.

Roy Booth, aka Batman, is a 54-year-old father-of-two from Hotwells who works at the Citizens Advice Bureau. He said: “I joined New Fathers 4 Justice a year ago; this is to stand up for fathers who get a really raw deal in court.

“This play brings that to light, so we’re here to support it.”

The demo was attended by suspension bridge protest veterans Pat Lennon and Jason Hatch, the latter best known for his Buckingham Palace balcony protest five years ago.

Bristol coordinator and sales rep Nigel Ace, 41, of Clevedon said: “Dads only want the same right of access as mum’s latest boyfriend.

“Why is it that if a mother finds a new man, or any number of new men, they are presumed fine to be with your children from day one?

“They suffer no police checks, they make no court appearances, they simply move in.

“Meanwhile, the birth father has to go through family court hell to even gain limited access to the child or children that are his and who he loves. ‘

Last night’s demo was intended as a forerunner to a national campaign of direct action.

The group’s next appearance is due at a St Patrick’s Day march in Belfast next week.

Jester protests over family courts

2009-02-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

A jester handed out leaflets outside Oxford Crown Court, in a protest over access to his daughter.

New Fathers for Justice campaigner Roger Crawford donned the traditional jesters hat and held a placard which read “Family Courts: Breaking Hearts, Destroying Lives,” during his four-hour protest in St Aldate’s. Mr Crawford, 60, said he had only seen his 16-year-old daughter Heather in courts since she was two-and-a-half years old.

The Bedfordshire man said he was protesting outside the court as his case had been heard there because his daughter lived in Thame.

Mr Crawford, who handed out leaflets detailing his plight between 10.15am and 2.15pm, said a court order prevented him from contacting his daughter.

He added: “I got dressed as a jester because I think the family court system is a joke. This is the only way, through publicity, that I can get any message to my daughter that I still love her.”

Here is Rogers story.

After the breakdown of Roger’s marriage, he met a new girl who was also going through a marriage break up. After sometime, they agreed to move in together especially in the light of them expecting a baby.

Strangely, however, Roger’s girlfriend Shirley, decided that she would stay married to her current husband and go ahead with the pregnancy (Roger’s child to be). Roger’s daughter, Heather was born in April 1992. However, the Mother decided without any consultation with Roger to register the daughter in her husband’s name. The husband knew she was Roger’s!!!
Still Shirley, the mother, insisted that she would move in with Roger and Roger continued seeing her, and his daughter, at very regular intervals. Roger still went on seeing Shirley and H. very often until H. was two and a half. At that age she had started to talk, and contact was abruptly stopped. At this, it finally dawned on Roger that he had been ‘tricked’ . He felt utterly devastated. He tried to cope with the fact that his girlfriend wanted him out of her life. To cope, he tried to put it out of his mind that he ever fathered a child. He just wanted to put it all behind him.

Of course, you just cannot forget a child and Roger missed his daughter.

After a year, Roger made contact the mother and he received regular updates on his daughter’s progress, and photographs. Then Shirley’s husband died of a heart attack. Roger thought at last, Shirley would at least tell H. she had a father - indeed Roger was promised this - but it never happened of course and when H. was ten, Roger insisted that she was told. “She doesn’t need a father”, Roger was told by the mother, so the whole grisly business of going to mediation, (none of what was agreed there was implemented) and then the Family Court, was started. The Court at least insisted that H. was told. “She has the right to know” said the court.

Roger now believes her mind was poisoned from the start..

There was to be no contact, as Heather did not want it, but Roger was to receive regular reports etc. Then, Roger was taken to the High Court for a complete ban on all contact and communication, but the Judge refused the mothers demand and said he should be given a trial period of contact “as it is obvious you care for your daughter very much”, but then referred the case back to Oxford where the Judge ignored everything the High Court Judge had recommended and Roger came away with nothing.

Other than in the High Court, Roger has not seen his daughter for over fourteen years. He has had no information about her for over two years now. Roger’s main gripe is that the Family Courts are adversarial, they pitch parent against parent and child against parent. No effort was made towards reconciliation. The child’s wishes, no matter how distorted by malice, are sacrosanct.

Would they be so if the child said she didn’t want to go to school? Why, then, is the vitally important matter of knowing her father is not an ogre so ignored? Roger has a Court Order against him not to try and make any contact or have any news of H until she is seventeen.

Roger believes that Heather is still ‘poisoned’ against him and he has given up hope of seeing her again, at least for many years. He was suddenly banned from seeing Heather by the court. Roger’s mother died earlier this year without ever seeing H or H knowing her, and so he is unable to keep his promise to her that one day she would see her granddaughter.

The object of his campaigning is to try and prevent other fathers being treated this way and going down the same road, possibly taking their children with them.