Saturday 14 June 2008

COURTROOM EVACUATED IN F4J PROTEST

Dozens of employees were evacuated from a Bristol family court today when Fathers 4 Justice campaigners stormed the building and a fire alarm was set off.Court and construction staff huddled outside Bristol County Court, in the high-rise Greyfriars building in the city centre, and waited for the fire service to arrive.



The protest, which began as a street demonstration, was joined by two Westcountry campaigners who had scaled the roof of deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman's home in Herne Hill, south London, earlier this week.

Jolly Stanesby, from Ivybridge, South Devon, and Mark Harris, from Plympton, were among about 30 banner-waving protesters dressed as various superheroes during the action calling for fathers' rights at Bristol County Court yesterday.

A dozen protesters dressed as Spiderman, Batman, Superman and The Incredibles forced their way into the court and chanted "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now!"

A fire alarm was activated, although court staff could not confirm who was responsible, and nearly 100 staff flooded into the street outside.

Mr Stanesby said: "We always have a little get-together before Father's Day to put our message across."

After the courts were stormed, two police vans arrived, along with two fire engines, and the protesters left the building to continue their march. Fathers 4 Justice is a civil rights group which campaigns for parental equality and a father's right to see his children.

Mr Stanesby added: "Just because my ex decided to move on... shouldn't mean I don't get to see my child."

He said he and Mr Harris, who have been bailed by police since their rooftop protest, had written to Ms Harman to request a meeting with her.

"She's minister for justice and minister for women - how can those two things go together?"

Mr Harris said opening family courts to the public was one of the focal points of the Fathers 4 Justice campaign. He said: "Open up the courts so people can see the ridiculous decisions made against fathers. I was once sent to prison for waving at my daughters."

The demonstrators later unveiled a new poster campaign featuring superheroes.

Bristol County Court later released a statement, saying proceedings were disrupted for around 30 minutes and business then resumed as normal.

Friday 13 June 2008

Harriet Harman's Refusal Letter


Monday 9 June 2008

'I will not be moved', vows Fathers 4 Justice campaigner who is STILL on minister's roof

A Fathers 4 Justice protester today vowed to remain on top of Harriet Harman's roof until his fellow protester had been released by police.

He also accused officers of using 'heavy-handed' tactics in trying to wrestle him down.



Jolly Stanesby and fellow demonstrator Mark Harris scaled the deputy leader of the Labour Party's house yesterday morning dressed as 'Captain Conception' and 'Cash Gordon'.

Mr Harris climbed down and was arrested last night but his fellow protester spent the night sleeping under a tarpaulin and insisted today he was staying put.

In for the long haul: Protester Jolly Stanesby was still on Harriet Harman's roof this morning and insists he is staying put

This morning Mr Stanesby said: 'I'm not coming down until they free my mate Mark. He is still being held.'

The pair were taking part in their latest protest over the treatment of fathers in child custody battles in court and had unfurled a banner reading 'A father is for life, not just conception'.

The Minister for Women refused to meet the pair and decided to temporarily move out of her South London address six hours after they arrived

The activists demanded the MP for Camberwell and Peckham read Mr Harris's book, Family Court Hell, an account of his court battle for custody of his two daughters.

Originally boasting they had enough food and water to stay aloft for a week, Mr Harris soon had to be brought down suffering from heatstroke.

He was arrested and faces charges of criminal damage and causing a public nuisance.

Determined: Mr Stanesby says fathers are treated like 'walking wallets'

But Mr Stanesby, 37, said: 'This protest is extremely important. In the courts dads are treated like a walking wallet and with total disregard. I will take each hour as it comes.'

Miss Harman, minister for Women and Equality, and her husband, Labour Party treasurer Jack Dromey, left the home and said: 'We are going to stay somewhere else. I don't think it's fair for police resources to be tied up by this demonstration.'

Fathers 4 Justice dismissed her claims that she had no record of a previous request for a meeting.

Miss Harman, 58, said it was not fair to waste police time or disturb her neighbours so she was going to stay elsewhere.

Three police cars were parked outside the house this morning and officers have already started a security review to work out how the Fathers 4 Justice campaigners were able to scale the walls of Miss Harman's home so easily.


The men claimed they had simply entered through an unlocked gate and propped a ladder up against the wall of the three-storey house.

Miss Harman was targeted because, in her previous Whitehall job as Solicitor General, campaigners say she did not do enough to open up access to the family courts.

It was also claimed that she had hinted at support for the aims of Fathers 4 Justice, but had done nothing.

On the move: Ms Harman outside her besieged home yesterday. She stayed inside for six hours but eventually decided to leave and wait for the protest to end

The drama started at about 8.15am. Once the two Fathers 4 Justice protesters were on the roof they unfurled a banner reading 'A Father is for life, not just conception'.

Mr Harris, speaking to the Daily Mail by mobile phone from the roof, insisted the stunt was a peaceful protest, but said it raised questions about Miss Harman's security arrangements.

'All we did was push open the gate, which wasn't even locked, put a ladder up and climbed up,' he said.

'In this time of heightened terror alerts I can't believe Harriet Harman has such lax security.'

A spokesman for the militant group - whose previous stunts including throwing flour at Tony Blair in the House of Commons and scaling Buckingham Palace - said the demonstration was intended as an 'early Father's Day strike' against the Government over fathers' access to their children.

Ms Harman, the Minister for Women and Equality, stayed inside the house for more than six hours.

But with no end to the stand-off in sight, she eventually emerged from the home she shares with Jack Dromey, treasurer of the Labour Party, to condemn the protest.

She said: 'We are going to move out and stay somewhere else. I don't think it's fair for police resources to be tied up outside my house by this demonstration.'

The demonstrators demanded a meeting with the Cabinet Minister during their sit-in, claiming she had refused to see them.

But Ms Harman denied this and said they could have attended her regular Friday constituency surgery at Southwark Town Hall two days earlier.

She said: 'They have said this is because they want a meeting but I checked with my constituency office and they haven't requested a meeting.'

Fathers 4 Justice spokesman Darryl Westell challenged Miss Harman's claims.

'It's rubbish,' he said. 'She has been approached through Matt O'Connor, the founder, and Mark Oaten, the MP for Winchester. She refused.'

Last night security expert Dai Davies, a former head of the Met's Royalty Protection Squad, said: 'It is ironic that at a time when the Government is trying to extend the detention period for terrorist suspects - supposedly because 2,000 individuals are plotting against us - that security should be so lax at the home of the deputy leader of the Labour Party.'


Fathers 4 Justice was shut down in January 2006 after extremist sympathisers were accused of plotting to kidnap Mr Blair's son Leo but was relaunched four months later when campaigners invaded the live broadcast of the National Lottery draw.

Mr Stanesby and another activist were fined after climbing Stonehenge dressed as cartoon caveman Fred Flintstone in February last year in protest about comments made by Tory leader David Cameron on absent fathers.

Fathers 4 Justice said it had been left with no choice but to resume its campaign of direct action and civil disruption because of the Government's "point-blank refusal" to meet its representatives.

Fathers 4 Justice campaigner continues overnight vigil on Harriet Harman's roof in Herne Hill


A Fathers 4 Justice campaigner who climbed on to the roof of deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman's home has been arrested, police said today.


Another man, Jolly Stanesby, remains on the roof of the Cabinet Minister's house in Herne Hill, south London after an all-night vigil, Scotland Yard said.

"A 49-year-old man who came down from the roof is in custody. A second man remains on the roof," a police spokeswoman said.

The pair, wearing superhero costumes, yesterday unfurled a banner reading "A father is for life, not just conception".

The group said they wanted to highlight the fact that fathers were being made redundant, emotionally in the courts and now biologically in the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

Ms Harman, the Minister for Women and Equality, remained inside yesterday for over seven hours but eventually emerged to announce she was leaving until the protest was over.

She said: "We are going to move out and stay somewhere else. I don't think it's fair for police resources to be tied up outside my house by this demonstration."

During their protest Mr Harris and Mr Stanesby demanded a meeting with the Cabinet Minister, claiming she had refused to see them.

But Ms Harman denied this and said they could have attended her regular Friday constituency surgery at Southwark Town Hall two days earlier.

She said: "They have said this is because they want a meeting but I checked with my constituency office and they haven't requested a meeting.

"I checked with my ministerial office and they haven't requested a meeting there."

Fathers 4 Justice founder Matt O'Connor responded by saying he had asked Ms Harman for "urgent talks" over a year ago through his local MP in Winchester, Lib-Dem Mark Oaten.

He said: "She wrote back and refused, as did other Ministers, such as Peter Hain.

"We have a duty of care to our kids to address the elephant in the room that is mass fatherlessness and the catastrophic consequences it has on our children."

The two protesters said they intended to remain on the roof until Ms Harman read Mr Harris's book about his child custody battle, Family Court Hell.


Police established a cordon around the house and tried to persuade the men to come down, although Fathers 4 Justice said the pair had enough supplies for a week.

Speaking by mobile phone from the roof, Mr Harris insisted it was a peaceful protest but raised questions about Ms Harman's security arrangements.

He said: "All we did was push open the gate, which wasn't even locked, put a ladder up and climbed up.

"In this time of heightened terror alerts I can't believe Harriet Harman has such lax security. My house is more secure than this."

The protest was the latest in a long line of high-profile Fathers 4 Justice stunts.

The most notorious incident involved activist Guy Harrison throwing a flour bomb at former prime minister Tony Blair in the House of Commons in May 2004.

Mr Blair was unhurt, but speaker Michael Martin immediately suspended the sitting halfway through Prime Minister's Questions.

Fathers 4 Justice was shut down in January 2006 after extremist sympathisers were accused of plotting to kidnap Mr Blair's son Leo.

But it was relaunched four months later when campaigners invaded the live broadcast of the National Lottery draw.

Members dressed as superheroes have previously raised awareness of their cause by scaling high-profile buildings, including Buckingham Palace.

Mr Stanesby and another activist were fined after climbing Stonehenge dressed as cartoon caveman Fred Flintstone in February last year in protest about comments made by Tory leader David Cameron on absent fathers.

Fathers 4 Justice said it had been left with no choice but to resume its campaign of direct action and civil disruption because of the Government's "point-blank refusal" to meet its representatives.

Mr O'Connor will lead a "Fatherless Day" demonstration at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London on Saturday, the group said.

Sunday 8 June 2008

Harriet Harman's home targeted by Fathers 4 Justice campaigners

Campaigners dressed as superheroes have scaled the roof of deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman's home while she and her husband were inside.



The Fathers 4 Justice activists, named as Mark Harris, 46 and Jolly Stanesby, 41, from Plymouth, climbed onto the house in south London dressed as Captain Conception and Cash Gordon.

The group, which campaigns for fathers' rights, said two more unnamed members were inside the building and had unfurled a banner from a bedroom window which read "A father is for life, not just conception".

Miss Harman and her husband, Labour party treasurer Jack Dromey, were said to be inside the house at the time.

Mr Harris said: "All we did was push open the gate which wasn't even locked, put a ladder up and climbed up.

"In this time of heightened terror alerts, I can't believe Harriet Harman has such lax security. My house is more secure than this."

The founder of the direct action group, Mark O'Connor, said: "This is the beginning of a series of protests leading up to Fathers' Day.

"We've got absolutely nowhere in terms of dialogue with the Government and if anything the situation for fathers is infinitely worse.

"Politicians don't want to tackle the elephant in the room, fatherhood, for fear of upsetting single mothers.

"They say you can abandon your children tomorrow if you pay."

The campaigners have said they will remain at the property until Miss Harman has read Mr Harris's book, Family Court Hell.

Mr O'Connor said: "They've got enough food to last them for a week."

Fathers 4 Justice have become well-known for their publicity stunts.

In 2004, two members of the group threw condoms filled with purple flour at Tony Blair, who was then Prime Minister, as he was addressing the House of Commons.

Later that year, another member of the group breached Buckingham Palace security and climbed onto a ledge wearing a Batman costume.

Fathers 4 Justice was shut down in January 2006 after hardline sympathisers were accused of plotting to kidnap Mr Blair's son Leo.

But the group was reborn four months later when campaigners invaded the set of the National Lottery draw during a live broadcast.

This latest stunt is the beginning of a series of new protests by the group, according to Mr O'Connor.

He said: "There will be an official protest in Bristol, when we'll be targeting the Child Support Agency (CSA) in a way which hasn't been seen before."

"We'll also be revisiting many of our older protests."

Last month, Miss Harman said that marriage was irrelevant to government policy.

Her comments led to accusations that Labour was trying to destroy traditional family life in Britain, and in the process condemning children to lives of poverty in single-­parent households.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "Officers are currently in attendance at the location and are speaking to the men."