Jolly Stanesby Fathers 4 Justice Activist

End Our Silence

2012-02-06T06:50:00.002Z

‎"END OUR SILENCE" Five children explain in their own words how they lost their fathers (and in some cases sisters), in the family courts and why they want the law to change to give children a right to see their fathers.

Jolly talks about David Norgrove's Family Law Review

2011-11-02T18:29:00.001Z

Jolly Stanesby Arrest

2011-03-19T14:13:00.002Z

Child Benefit

2011-03-04T19:08:00.002Z

Rosy's Letters

2010-03-11T20:03:00.003Z

Activist sues Ministry of Justice for £100,000

2009-10-16T16:46:00.000Z

Friday, October 16, 2009, 12:00

A FATHERS' rights campaigner is launching a bid to claim back more than £100,000 he says he lost fighting an eight-year legal battle for access to his daughter.

The Herald revealed in August how Jonathan 'Jolly' Stanesby, 39, had secured joint residence to have equal care of his 10-year-old daughter after a high-profile wrangle with the family courts.

A founding member of the Fathers 4 Justice campaign group, he was jailed last year after camping out on deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman's roof dressed as a superhero.

But now Jolly, from Ivybridge, is taking his fight back into court – to claim back almost a decade's-worth of lost earnings and legal fees.

He described himself as 'emotionally drained' and said the gruelling eight-year process had forced him to give up work and sell land, leaving him crippled by debt.

Now settling into being a dad again, Jolly says he is looking to retrain for a new career and put some cash away for his daughter, and plans to do that by taking the Ministry of Justice to court for more than £100,000.

"A lot of what I've lost is priceless," he said. "The time my daughter missed out on you can't put a price on. Then you've got my loss of wages over four or five years, legal fees and all the phone calls since it began eight years ago.

"It's amazing how it all adds up. I'll never be able to put a figure on it."

Jolly is now submitting an application to Plymouth County Court in the hope of fixing a date for a directions hearing.

He said he would take his new battle as far as it would go.

Jolly admitted his long battle with the family courts, which began in 2001, had left him 'completely destroyed', but even more determined to raise awareness of fathers' rights.

"I've lost everything and now I've got to restart everything I'd done," Jolly said. "I've gone back 10 years in my life.

"I lost my job, they took my driving licence away, my credit rating was destroyed and I went to prison.

"That means I can never work in childcare, which is what I really wanted to do: but at the end of the day, I'm lucky.

"A lot of people don't fight the family courts, and at least now I get to see my daughter.

"All the time she's missed out on seeing me and all the things she's missed out on doing you can't put a price on. I used to keep animals and we'd go camping and all the things she'd love to experience.

"When you spend eight years going through this, you have to think about where the money's coming from to feed yourself.

"I've got to retrain, but it's not easy because I'm not a teenager any more," he said. "I've looked at going to university but it's very tough with the cost."

Jolly said a fellow-Fathers 4 Justice campaigner had spent £250,000 on legal fees during his own custody battle.

"Most people who go through the family courts are so exhausted they just want an end to it and to cut their losses," he added, "but the way I feel is, I've got a 10-year-old daughter with her whole life ahead of her and it's only fair I try and give something back to her. That's the reason I'm doing this."

Fathers 4 Justice dad finally gains joint custody of daughter

2009-08-22T12:01:00.001Z

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/08/22/fathers-4-justice-dad-finally-gains-joint-custody-of-daughter-115875-21615319/

By Richard Smith 22/08/2009

A founder member of the Fathers 4 Justice protest group has won an eight-year battle over access to his daughter.

Jonathan Stanesby, 44, was jailed for two months last year for climbing on to Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman's roof dressed as a superhero.

He also cuffed himself to ex-Children's Minister Margaret Hodge to protest that he could only see his daughter one weekend every two weeks. But following an agreement with his ex-partner, he has now obtained joint custody of his daughter.

Stanesby said yesterday: "My daughter is now living with me half the time and she's chuffed - it's what we've always wanted. I'm obviously elated but I'm also very bitter about the whole experience. It destroys your life. I'm still paying fines, I'm still in debt, and I'll probably never be able to go back to the work I loved now that I've been to prison."

The Fathers 4 Justice stunts began after Stanesby and his partner split in 2000. Stanesby, from Ivybridge, Devon, fought for shared residence and said: "I had a spacious house, I had great references, I was a registered childminder, the perfect picture of a dad. Then I went to court and I was completely and utterly humiliated.

"I was so angry -I left it a week then I climbed on to the Plymouth Courts' roof. With Fathers 4 Justice, I don't want to see something I've started go to pieces so I'll continue. But my family comes first - that was always the reason in the first place."

Fathers 4 Justice campaigner 'elated' at court result

2009-08-20T17:24:00.001Z

A FATHERS' rights campaigner who was jailed for his high-profile stunts has finally resolved an eight-year legal battle over access to his daughter.

Jonathan 'Jolly' Stanesby has hit the headlines for handcuffing himself to MPs, scaling American monuments and ultimately serving a prison sentence in his fight for joint custody of his ten-year-old.

Now, crippled by debt and "emotionally drained" from the gruelling legal process, the 39-year-old, from Ivybridge, has told The Herald his amazing story.

He described himself as "elated" by this month's court result, but hit out at the "oppressive" system which he says forced him to take such drastic action through the high-profile Fathers 4 Justice campaign.

Jolly said: "I've only ever asked for one thing: to be able to see my daughter.

"I'm obviously elated but I'm also very bitter about the whole experience. It destroys your life.

"Our system is not working, it's completely and utterly discriminatory and for me it's been a war against that bureaucracy since 2001."

Earlier this month, Jolly and his ex-partner issued an agreed statement stating that they had reached a shared care arrangement agreement which had been approved by a judge.

A founding member of Fathers 4 Justice, Jolly's fight for awareness has seen him climb monuments such as Stonehenge in fancy dress, sleep in cranes for a week and even handcuff himself to former children's minister Margaret Hodge.

Finally, after spending 24 hours on deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman's roof last June dressed as a superhero, he was hit with a two-month prison sentence.

The registered childminder, who had never been in trouble with the law until his custody battle began, ended up sharing a cell in Wormwood Scrubs with an international drug-smuggler and a man convicted of a stabbing.

He said the long battle had left him cynical, untrusting and angry.

"It was as though I was locked up for wanting to see my daughter," Jolly said. "She is now living with me half of the time and she's chuffed to bits – it's what we've always wanted.

"But it's left me completely emotionally drained.

"I'm still paying fines, I'm still in debt, I don't trust anybody and I'll probably never be able to go back to the work I loved now I've been to prison."

Jolly said police had visited his house in Manor Close more than 80 times, twice raiding his home and carting away his computer to gather intelligence.

He said: "Before this I had no criminal record, no involvement with the police whatsoever. But I've now been arrested and also suffered broken ribs and other injuries.

"I had my driving licence taken away and police were watching me all the time.

"I felt constantly targeted, like they were waiting for me to slip up.

"Every time I went to London two uniformed police officers would follow me everywhere, even into the toilet.

"When they raided my house they took everything, even pictures my daughter had done for me.

"But they brought it all back because I had nothing to hide.

"It was so emotionally crushing.

"I've felt like giving up many times but you're in a situation where you can't give up – it's your child."

Jolly said he had received dozens of letters of support from across the globe while in jail at Wormwood Scrubs and HMP Wandsworth, where supporters gathered outside to protest at his sentence.

He also spent a night in an American cell, chained at the feet after being arrested by an armed SWAT team when he scaled the iconic Lincoln Memorial to unveil a banner in 2007.

"I have feared for my life," Jolly admitted. "I was chased by the FBI when I went to New York to shut down the Brooklyn Bridge.

"They think differently out there – they told me if I didn't comply they would be forced to shoot me.

"They said it would make their jobs easier if myself, and another protester I was with, went with them to see the sights and went to restaurants and clubs so we did – they treated us like royalty and paid for everything.

"They said we were thought to be the biggest threat to New York at that moment; we had nine men on us.

"But Fathers 4 Justice has always been a non-violent organisation."

The stunts began just after Jolly and his ex-partner separated in 2000, with his daughter less than two years old.

He wanted greater access to his child and began the gruelling battle for shared residence.

He said: "I had a spacious house, I had great references, I was a registered childminder and I'd been helping in the nursery.

"I was the perfect picture of a dad.

"Then I went to court for the so-called final hearing and I felt I was completely and utterly humiliated.

"I was so angry – I left it a week then I climbed onto the Plymouth Courts' roof.

"I was overwhelmed by the response and it just snowballed from there – I had to get the message out there.

"But it wasn't really until I was in prison that I realised how much people are watching."

Jolly first hit the headlines when he staged a protest from the cab of a 100-foot crane in Exeter in 2003.

Then he took his campaign to the capital, proceeding to scale the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

He also staged a Christmas protest on Tower Bridge, took up residence on the Tamar Bridge, gatecrashed the Queen's Birthday Parade and stormed family law conferences with other activists.

At the height of Father 4 Justice's notoriety, the group was even falsely accused of plotting to kidnap then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's son – an accusation that still angers Jolly.

Now, despite securing shared residence of his daughter Jolly is determined to keep fighting for other fathers in the UK and beyond.

He said: "It's not about what you miss out on as a parent, it's what your child misses out on.

"Something like 280,000 cases went through the family courts last year and thousands more dads can't afford to take it that far.

"For years they had taken men out one by one and we'd never had a voice, but we've set the wheels turning now and I don't regret a single thing, even prison.

"The only thing I do regret is the fact I've had to go through it.

"It seems to be guilty until proven innocent for dads in the family courts – and it really hurts.

"For a father it starts with being out of the family home, then he has to apply to see his children, then the CSA starts contacting him for money and then most give up.

"Then he's made financially impaired – and on top of that he's emotionally drained."

Jolly said his own legal bills had run into tens of thousands of pounds, while the legal process took up so much of his time that he was forced to give up childminding and working for a local architects' firm.

His finances were hit so hard he was forced to give up land near Kingsbridge where he had been rearing sheep and, eventually, he had take up Legal Aid and claim benefits.

Jolly admits he found hard to cope with at times.

"You are constantly depressed," he said. "It takes over your life.

"In the end I couldn't work anymore and I've had counselling because I couldn't cope.

"I don't want to be out of work – I want to be a childminder and even foster children.

"But I couldn't give up the fight, how could a dad not want to see his daughter?

"Financially, it's the days in court, it's paying for parking, it's making phone calls to the solicitors – even ink for your printer all adds up.

"It can grind you down and make you give up.

"I know a number of people who have had to sell their houses and move back in with their parents after spending £50-60,000 on legal fees."

Half a dozen boxes packed with legal documents are testament to his eight-year battle, which has seen 23 separate agencies and hundreds of members of their staff take on the case.

Jolly is convinced the system is in place to keep people in work – not to benefit the children who have to go through the struggle.

He added: "Society's biggest asset is children.

"But it doesn't work in the interest of the child, it works in the interest of the resident parent, which is the mother in 97 per cent of cases.

"I think it's an oppressive system, but it employs a hell of a lot of people.

"At the end of the day it's all about money; a broken family causes big business, whereas a happy family doesn't.

"Children need stability and they need both parents in their lives.

"Research has proved that children without both parents are more likely to fall into gangs, crime, drugs, everything.

"One thing I found in prison was people were in there for things that mostly stemmed from family matters.

"A child like my daughter, who has seen eight years of this, is bound to be affected by it forever. How can she not be?"

Jolly, who reformed the group as New Fathers 4 Justice after one of its founding members left, is determined to take the campaign to other countries such as the US, where he says dads have similar difficulties.

He is currently in discussions with numerous other organisations about ways to take the campaign forward.

But he said that, for now, he is looking forward to finally being a dad again.

He added: "When you're cut off by the courts you're cut off from their school life, their friends, everything.

"I have a lot of catching up to do.

"My daughter can't wait to spend time with me, and she can't understand the system either – even at her age.

"It's the little things that I'm elated about now, like I've been able to get her a phone so we can talk whenever we want.

"She's very artistic, she plays the piano, does paintings and she loves animals.

"With Fathers 4 Justice, I don't want to see something I've started go to pieces so for that reason I'll continue.

"But my family comes first – that was always the reason in the first place."

Thanks

2009-01-19T18:43:00.002Z

Firstly,

I would like to thank everyone for all their support and for all the letters, messages, and donations while I was in prison, following the roof top protest on Harriet Harman’s roof.

I feel honoured at the response by everyone, including the judge who sent me down, I feel the fact they are fighting back in this manner shows we are a thorn in their side and they do not like the fact that we are exposing them for what they really are.

Hundreds of Suffragettes were imprisoned before they affected change; Nelson Mandela spent 30 years behind bars with international support before that corrupt government made changes, Martin Luther King was shot dead.

So the reality is this corrupt government will not take any notice of a few of us writing letters and moaning about the persecution and abuse of our children, and us parents fighting for the rights of our children to be allowed a balanced upbringing by both their parents after separation.

The maximum sentence, for my crime of standing up against the biggest abuse of our human rights since the holocaust, was 3 months prison, with which you serve half, so that would be 6 weeks, surely that is a price anyone can pay if it will make a difference for our children.

I enjoyed a good rest from the continuous bombardment of relentless, useless paperwork of, recommendations, false accusations and unfactual biased, twisted reports that comes with you wanting to be a responsible parent.

It was an experience I am glad I have had, I was treated well, and if you’ve endured the family courts, it was nothing.

If we want change from the disease which is family law. This epidemic of pain and suffering forced on innocent children and ourselves by untamed corruption by our government, in particular by individuals such as Harriet Harman, with her anti-men agenda, and her determination to destroy the family.

If we want what is needed, radical change. Then it requires radical action, determination, effort, UNITY and some form of personal sacrifice.

We are now in a stronger position than ever, with the integrity of the family court, gravy train in tatters, and two good parents clearly recognized as the most positive way forward for our children.

And with a never ending collection of determined, dedicated, reliable, activists and individuals, all now that is needed is a concerted, driven effort to change things.

We all have one aim, now this is the time to set aside personal differences, and keep focused and not to allow any unnecessary stumbling blocks halt our drive to succeed in what is right and just.

Because of infiltration by government informants, and groups with fested interests to leave things as they are. A degree of misinformation and the appearance of a lack of interest of certain proposals, actions and volunteers may seem apparent,

I would like to assure all people that we respect everyone's views and understand the anxieties and frustrations that apparent inaction can cause.

But many things do go on behind the scenes, and we ask for understanding, and patience as things aren’t as easy as they sometimes seem.

We have no funding, and coordinating action, the costs of materials, time, transport and penalty's all come from the volunteers themselves.

All donations are now accountable, and we desperately need financial help to progress things at a quicker speed.

We have many activists, but there are never enough, in particular we need activists willing to endure hardship, ie a few nights out in the elements.

We also want to set up a buddies scheme where individuals, volunteer to support individual activists or a parent going to court,they would be expected to appear at court, be on the end of a phone to offer help support and advice, and generally let it be realised that we work as a team and no activist should be left on there own when they have stood up for all of us.

We also need back up crews in some areas, foot soldiers, willing to do the preparation on the ground, being able to keep calm, take orders and work in a team.

We are updating our lists, and welcome all new volunteers, men and women to our coordinated campaign of non violent direct action.Our children depend on us and we will not let them down.

Let the protest continue.

Jolly Stanesby

Give Dads Equal Rights

2008-11-19T10:00:00.003Z

Dear Friends,

This despicable corrupt injustice that we & our children are experiencing must stop !

If societies answer to a responsible parent, wanting to do the right thing for their children, is to humiliate, belittle, degrade, generally abuse & then incarcerate that parent, then I for one am not willing to accept that inhumane treatment from our oppressors, & watch while our children & fellow citizens are tormented in this way.

But nothing comes for free & rarely does the oppressor give in to the oppressed without a fight, especially when they have a lot to hide.

So now is the time to keep focused on these injustices thrown at us, come out of our comfort zones, stop crying in the corner & in unity take on the challenge.

Our endeavors must be relentless until these career driven, spineless, vultures(Our so called superiors in law) treat us with humanity & do what is right & just, for our children & our society judge us as equals.

In this there is no place for failure

Jolly Stanesby

IVYBRIDGE Fathers 4 Justice activist Jolly Stanesby jailed

2008-11-12T18:53:00.002Z

IVYBRIDGE Fathers 4 Justice activist Jolly Stanesby was today jailed for two months for a rooftop protest at the home of Deputy Prime Minister Harriett Harman.
Fellow protestor Mark Harris, of Elford Crescent in Plympton, was given a conditional discharge.

Members of the group, which had disbanded in September of this year, said they would be staging further protests on the Minister's roof and at the Prime Minister's home in Kirkaldy & Cowdenbeath within the week to protest at what they described as a 'politically conceived show trial.'

Spokesman Mark Harris said: "I am shocked that Mr Stanesby has been imprisoned and know that fellow campaigners will be taking his place on Miss Harman's roof within days if not hours. The court has made a serious error in committing him to prison and in doing so incited angry dads to take further direct action."

The pair climbed on to the roof of a house in Herne Hill on June 9 this year and unfurled a banner reading ‘A father is for life, not just conception’

Stanesby, of Manor Close, Ivybridge, has a long history of protesting for F4J.
In 2003 he spent nights up a crane on the construction site of a new court building in Exeter, spent Christmas on Tower Bridge in London dressed as Father Christmas, then weeks later brought the Tamar Bridge to a standstill when he spent a week up a gantry across the A38. In February he protested at the Blackwall Tunnel in London.

In May 2004 he protested on the roof of Plymouth Crown Court dressed as a superhero then in November handcuffed himself to minister Margaret Hodge.

In 2006 he masterminded the storming of the live National Lottery TV show, spent two nights on a judge's roof and started 2007 by climbing Stonehenge dressed as Fred Flinstone.

In August 2007 he was arrested at gunpoint by a SWAT team after climbing the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, USA.

Harriet Harman to be called to give evidence in F4J Rooftop Trial, 27th August

2008-07-26T16:13:00.002Z

Two Fathers 4 Justie protestors have called Jack Dromey, the husband of the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman, to give evidence at their trial at Camberwell Magistrates Court on Wenesday 27th August at 10.00am.

The pair are also issuing a witness summons for the Minister to appear and give evidence.

Jolly Stanesby and Mark Harris, both from Devon, pleaded not guilty to charges of harassment and failing to follow a police officers instructions.

F4J today said that the Minister would be targeted again in the near future and that she had seriously misled the public in the media and in the House of Commons with her comments.

Said a spokesman,'As the Minister for equality, all we are asking for is equal treatment for dads. Surely, that isn't too much to ask a Minister charged with ensuring parity for all citizens regardless of gender, race, colour or creed.'

In October 2007, Minister Margaret Hodge gave evidence against Mr Stanesby after he was accused of unlawful imprisonment after handcuffing himself to the Minister in 2004. He was found not guilty in a jury trial in Manchester.

COURTROOM EVACUATED IN F4J PROTEST

2008-06-14T12:37:00.002Z

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.

Harriet Harman's Refusal Letter

2008-06-13T18:04:00.000Z

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

2008-06-09T15:02:00.002Z

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

2008-06-09T12:47:00.001Z

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.

Harriet Harman's home targeted by Fathers 4 Justice campaigners

2008-06-08T20:01:00.001Z

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."

Fathers stage court protest

2007-10-28T22:37:00.000Z

Fathers' rights protesters staged a demo outside a Torquay courthouse yesterday.

Placards were placed outside the court supporting the Fathers-4-Justice campaign for equal rights for both parents in custody cases, and calling for scrapping of the Child Support Agency.

They were at Torbay Magistrates Court for the hearing of a case of a member, Jolly Stanesby who had his driving licence suspended by magistrates yesterday for refusing to pay child maintenance.

The defendant appeared for non-payment of three liability orders totalling £522.82 dating back to 2003.

YABBA-DABBA-DOO! FATHERS FINED FOR STONEHENGE STUNT

2007-10-12T09:29:00.000Z

8:00 - 12 October 2007

Magistrates yesterday met the Flintstones when a pair of look-a-like Freds sat in a courtroom dock decked in trademark orange and black spotted sabre-toothed tiger garb.

The Two Freds - one of whom was allowed to carry his club - were the first people in the country to be tried for scaling Britain's favourite piece of rock, Stonehenge.

Salisbury Magistrates' Court doubled as Bedrock as the duo, both members of the Fathers4Justice pressure group, defended their stunt at the 4,500-year-old stone circle earlier this year.They were accused of unlawfully climbing a national monument contrary to the Stonehenge Regulations Act of 1997 and the Ancient Monuments Act of 1979.

Father-of-one Jonathan 'Jolly' Stanesby, 42, of Ivybridge, Devon and dad-of-two Richard West, 40, of Ottery St Mary, Devon, both pleaded not guilty.

The F4J activists, campaigning for changes in the law to give fathers from split relationships better access to their children, claimed they were innocent because they did not know it was illegal to climb Stonehenge.

In a bizarre twist, Stanesby insisted on being addressed throughout the proceedings as "Mrs Hodge" having changed his name by deed-poll to Margaret Hodge, the former Children's MinisterLast week he was cleared of false imprisonment after handcuffing himself to Mrs Hodge for 20 minutes in 2004. Ironically, Mrs Hodge is now Culture Minister whose remit includes Stonehenge.

The two defendants and another F4J activist David White had a yabba-dabba-doo time when they spent more than seven hours on top of Stonehenge on February 22.The court heard that just after 9am the trio, armed with a ladder, negotiated a perimeter fence before dashing to the monument and scampering up the stones.Security guard Christopher Gibbs said he gave chase.

"I got to the stones as the last one was climbing up."As security guards gathered in frustration below, the men revealed their Fred Flintstone costumes and unfurled a 30ft banner bearing the slogan 'Drag family law out of the Stone Age'.

Prosecutor Philomena Creffield said: "This is a monument of world renown which is protected against people climbing on it to ensure that it is not damaged and is preserved for future generations."

Referred to in court as Fred One, Stanesby, a child carer, told the bench: "Stonehenge has been climbed on for hundreds and thousands of years."

A veteran of many F4J stunts involving the Tamar Bridge, York Minster, Severn Bridge, Blackwall Tunnel, the High Courts, Trooping the Colour and the National Lottery, he added: "I was not aware of signs there saying we weren't allowed to climb it."

Fred Two, Richard West, said he had seen numerous photos of people standing on top of Stonehenge, and was unaware climbing it was illegal.He said the pair had gone to great lengths to ensure the monument was not damaged, including wearing soft shoes and greasing the ladder.

They were each fined £100 and ordered to pay £100 costs while West was told by chairman of the bench, Richard Arundell, that he could reclaim the banner confiscated by police.The sentencing is unlikely to enamour F4J with members of the pagan community.

Tensions between pagans and leaders of F4J have sparked an angry row over the desecration of two iconic monuments.The radical campaign group says it has received death threats from people claiming to be pagan after slogans supporting its cause were daubed on Glastonbury Tor and parts of the Cerne Abbas giant painted purple earlier in the summer.

Yesterday, Fathers4Justice said it had carried out a full investigation into the incidents, revealing it believed someone had committed the acts with an ulterior motive, as part of a smear campaign aimed at tarnishing its reputation.

Morgan Rhys-Adams, Pagan Federation member and Glastonbury resident, said: "We cannot condone violence in any way and the Pagan Federation would want to completely disassociate itself with any kind of death threats. It is not our way."

At a previous hearing the Third Fred, David White, 29, of Southampton, was told to pay £320 after admitting the offence.

Two cleared in handcuffed MP case

2007-10-03T20:35:00.001Z

Mr Hatch and Mr Stanseby were cleared of false imprisonment
A fathers' rights campaigner who handcuffed himself to former children's minister Margaret Hodge has been cleared of false imprisonment.
Mrs Hodge was ambushed at a Law Society conference at the Lowry Hotel in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2004.

The MP was handcuffed for 20 minutes Manchester Crown Court heard.

Jonathan Stanesby, 41, from Ivybridge, Devon, was cleared along with Jason Hatch, 35, from Cheltenham, who tried but failed to reach the MP.

Mrs Hodge, who is now culture minister, had to be freed with bolt cutters.

The minister was at the Lowry Hotel on 19 November for a conference called "Battle of the Sexes".

Margaret Hodge MP was at a Law Society conference

She was handcuffed by Mr Stanesby as she took part in a question-and-answer session afterwards.

He cuffed her wrist to his, saying: "Margaret Hodge, I'm arresting you for covering up child abuse."

This was a reference to Mrs Hodge's time as a councillor in Islington, north London.

Mr Hatch also attempted to handcuff the Cabinet minister and MP for Barking but was blocked from reaching her by Mrs Hodge's assistant private secretary.

At the trial Mrs Hodge described how she was "distressed" by the activists' actions.

'Upset and disturbed'

"I did have a pain on my wrist for about six months afterwards," she said.

"I was upset and I was very disturbed by that incident."

But Kyri Argyropoulos, for Mr Stanesby, suggested that the minister was not prepared to meet members of Fathers 4 Justice because of their past behaviour.

He suggested she was "far from accessible" - a charge Mrs Hodge denied.

Jonathan Stanesby at a previous fathers' rights protest

Alan Wolstenholme, prosecuting, said the men "went much further than they were entitled to do".

The verdicts were met with cheers and applause from Fathers 4 Justice supporters in the public gallery.

The court heard how both men had previously been involved in high-profile protests for the group.

Mr Hatch, who gained notoriety after scaling the walls of Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman, thanked the jury after the not guilty verdict was read out.

He said he was "ecstatic" at the verdict.

"The jury are sending a clear message that the family law courts must be overhauled immediately.

"The breakdown in our society can quite clearly be traced to the breakdown of families. The only way this can be rectified is by stopping the secrecy of family courts.

"I carried out a citizen's arrest on Margaret Hodge and it looks like the jury thought I was justified to do so."

COURT TOLD PROTESTERS HANDCUFFED MP

2007-09-29T11:02:00.001Z

Two fathers' rights protesters - one from Ivybridge - handcuffed former children's minister Margaret Hodge during a family law conference, a court heard today.

Jason Hatch, 35, and Jonathan 'Jolly' Stanesby, 41, walked up to the MP during a question-and-answer session in Salford, Greater Manchester and grabbed her by the arms, Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court was told.

Stanesby, of Ivybridge, told the minister she was being "arrested" for child abuse before cuffing her left wrist to his, the court heard.

Mrs Hodge, who is MP for Barking, was trapped in the fixed handcuffs for 15 minutes and eventually had to be released using bolt cutters.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Alan Wolstenholme said Hatch had intended to handcuff himself to Mrs Hodge's other arm but she struggled free with the help of her assistant private secretary. Hatch, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was grabbed by a security guard but managed to get free and leave the conference at the Lowry Hotel, dropping his handcuffs on the way, the court heard.

Mr Wolstenholme said the pair were both members of Fathers4Justice at the time of the incident on November 19, 2004, and had aimed to gain publicity for their cause.

Mr Wolstenholme said Mrs Hodge, who, at the time, was minister for children, young people and families, arrived at the hotel at around 10am.

She spoke at the conference, which was entitled Battle Of The Sexes, and took part in a Q and A session afterwards. Around 10 minutes into the session, she noticed two men approaching her from the left of the platform.

Mr Wolstenholme said: "The two men were carrying books and stood out to the extent that they wore ill-fitting suits and seemed to be the only people standing up at the time.

"As they got to within five feet or so of Margaret Hodge they rushed towards her. One of the two men took hold of her right arm and the other took her left arm."

Both men deny a charge of false imprisonment.

IVYBRIDGE PROTESTER MAY FACE TRIAL IN NOVEMBER

2007-08-18T10:22:00.000Z

IVYBRIDGE PROTESTER MAY FACE TRIAL IN NOVEMBER

06:50 - 23 August 2007

Ivybridge Fathers 4 Justice campaigner Jolly Stanesby could go to trial in November for climbing the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, USA.The flamboyant South Devon F4J protester - who dressed as Batman and scaled the historic monument on Friday - was due to appear in a Washington court on September 19.

But he is also set to appear in a London court on the same date for allegedly handcuffing himself to former children's minister Margaret Hodge - so he has asked his lawyers to get him a new date in the USA in mid-November. Mr Stanesby flew back to Britain yesterday after spending "some time with murderers" in Washington cells.

The high-profile F4J activist was arrested at gunpoint by a SWAT team along with another protester.

The protest was organised and performed by UK F4J activists Mr Stanesby, who dressed as Batman, and Mike Downes, as Captain America.

It was supported by US colleagues on the ground - with a 'support crew' of four people also held by police after the memorial was evacuated by the authorities. Mr Stanesby was charged with holding an unofficial protest and climbing a monument.

He also faces trial for the alleged Margaret Hodge incident.

Mr Stanesby was in the USA taking the F4J campaign to the Americans. The 41-year-old accompanied fellow-Fathers 4 Justice campaigner Matt O'Connor, the group's founder, to the States to speak at a major male rights conference - before trying to "strengthen ties" with American campaigners.

Mr Stanesby said: "Hopefully we can put back the American trial so I can go to the one involving Margaret Hodge.

"It was a brilliant trip - the Americans seem very enthusiastic on the campaign. The arrest was a big success too. They were going to use pepper gas.

"We were treated pretty heavily in the prison, with our feet chained up, but it highlighted our campaign."

Press Release - 18th August 2007
F4J Activists Arrested at Gunpoint After Washington Protest Dramatic Pictures

Pictures and video footage can be downloaded at http://www.trueequality.com/Lincoln/

Two Fathers 4 Justice activists were yesterday arrested at gunpoint by a SWAT team at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. A support crew of four were also held as the memorial was evacuated by the authorities.

The protest which was organised and performed by Fathers 4 Justice activists from the United Kingdom, included protest veterans Jolly Stanesby and Mike Downes. The protest was supported by US colleagues on the ground.

The activists are being help in US custody in Washington though the intentions of the authorities are unclear at the present time. The UK activists could be deported or placed on trial.

Said F4J Founder Matt O¹Connor this morning, "Yet again Fathers 4 Justice in the UK has led the way with an audacious protest to raise the global profile of fatherlessness and the social catastrophe it is causing in first world countries. Given the problem is not one that is unique to any one country or culture, a first world problem requires a first world, international response. This is our response to the inaction of the US authorities. There will be many, many more to follow."

"None of this however, would have been possible without the outstanding support of our colleagues in the US. Now we have lit the flame, we can begin the struggle to make equal parenting a reality in the United States, and combat the insidious gender apartheid that separates children from their fathers in the family courts."

The breaking Fathers 4 Justice campaign in the US has a new web site and
brand identity at www.f4jusa.com

FATHERS 4 JUSTICE CAMPAIGNER SEEKS 'ELEMENT OF SURPRISE'

2007-06-21T13:25:00.000Z

Westcountry fathers' rights campaigner Jolly Stanesby has promised to use "the element of surprise" in future protests after nine people were arrested at the Trooping of the Colour ceremony in London on Saturday.

The arrests were made after a newspaper report that the group planned to mount a "spectacular event", but a Fathers 4 Justice spokesman said the Buckingham Palace incident was not the event talked about.

Mr Stanesby, who was one of those arrested, said that Buckingham Palace was "not an ideal venue for a protest".

The Metropolitan Police said that the arrests were made to prevent a breach of the peace as part of a large proactive policing operation.

Nine activists were arrested before they could scale barriers and handcuff themselves to the Queen's carriage.

The seven men and two women were later released without charge.

Fathers 4 Justice said that the arrests, just minutes before the Queen left Buckingham Palace for the Trooping of the Colour ceremony at the Horse Guards Parade, did not affect its plans for a resumption of direct action.

It follows a demonstration at last year's event where a protester got within 20 feet of the carriage.

The controversial pressure group said that it had warned last week of a resumption of activities but that this was not the "spectacular" mentioned in last week's Independent on Sunday newspaper.

Mr Stanesby, from Ivybridge, South Devon, said: "We hadn't considered the Trooping of the Colour until Scotland Yard asked us if we'd be
present.

"It sounded like an invitation and an opportunity to try out a few ideas.

"It's not an ideal venue for a protest, as it's a full 'belt and braces' job for them - we'd much rather catch them with the element of surprise, which has always been our trademark."

CLIMBING CHARGE DENIED

2007-04-09T12:56:00.000Z

Devon Fathers 4 Justice campaigners Richard West, 40, from Ottery St Mary, and Jolly Stanesby, 36, from Ivybridge, are to face trial for allegedly climbing on Stonehenge wearing Fred Flintstone outfits.

They and a third man, Dave White, 29, from Southampton, all denied climbing on an ancient monument when they appeared before Salisbury magistrates.

They were summoned to return to the court for a pre-trial review on June 8.

Archbishop Of Pork Protest

2007-03-01T17:57:00.000Z

JOLLY ON THE ROCKS IN LATEST PROTEST

2007-02-25T15:32:00.000Z

Ivybridge fathers' rights campaigner Jolly Stanesby has protested on the rocks of Stonehenge dressed as Fred Flintstone.The 41-year-old and two colleagues, also dressed as the cartoon character, from the Fathers 4 Justice group climbed on to the ancient monument in Wiltshire at about 9am with supplies to last three days.

They said they were demonstrating against comments about absent fathers made by Tory leader David Cameron.Matt O'Connor, founder of the group, said the protest was in response to Mr Cameron's 'failure to get to grips with the issue of absent fathers in Britain.'Mr Cameron said yesterday that attitudes to gun-carrying and absentee fathers had to be altered in the same way attitudes to drink-driving had changed.

Mr O'Connor said: "Mr Cameron says fathers are abandoning their children and this can lead to children getting involved with crime. We at Fathers 4 Justice feel very strongly that this is not always the case.

Mr Stanesby has only just been told he will not be prosecuted for a rooftop protest dressed as Father Christmas at a judge's house near Exeter in November.But he is also accused of chaining himself to former children's minister Margaret Hodge. Mrs Hodge was stuck in the cuffs for about 40 minutes outside the Lowry Hotel in Manchester, where she was attending a conference on November 19, 2004.

Stanesby denies false imprisonment and faces trial in May.

Fathers 4 Justice Rock Stonehenge

2007-02-22T14:37:00.000Z

Three Fred Flintstone campaigners from Fathers 4 Justice scaled Stonehenge at 9.15am this morning in anger at David Cameron's comments about absent fathers this morning.

Jolly Stanesby, 36, from Ivybridge Devon, Dave White, 29 from Southampton and Richard West, 40, from Ottery St Mary, Devon are all wearing Fred Flintstone outfits in a symbolic protest at what they say is Caveman Cameron's naive and prejudiced beliefs about fathers when 300,000 dads have lost contact with their kids in the family courts since 1997. Cameron had said fathers are abandoning their children.

The protestors evaded tight security and prevented English Heritage officers forcibly removing them from the stones with a ladder. Said F4J Founder Matt OConnor, We need an urgent, intellectual debate about fatherlessness, not meandering Neanderthal comments from dinosaur Dave. Stonehenge is symbolic because it formed the foundation of our society, foundations being eroded by all the main political parties.

Family Law is literally killing kids stone dead. Family breakdown is rife and last weeks Unicef report put Britain bottom out of 21 countries as being the worst place in the first world to grow up. We want to consign the secret family courts to history and by putting the world's most famous stone age man on top of the world¹s most famous stones, we aim to show our commitment to our nations children.

PROTESTER WON'T BE CHARGED FOR CLIMBING ON JUDGE'S ROOF

2007-02-05T15:34:00.000Z

No charges are to be brought against a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner who staged a protest on the roof of a Devon judge's house, sparking a massive police operation costing many thousands of pounds.Police have also revealed that no action will be taken against the judge after claims that he pointed a loaded shotgun at Jolly Stanesby as he perched on his roof.

Around 80 police officers were deployed when the two-day protest began in November, but police have declined to put a figure on the cost of the operation.Mr Stanesby, 37, a registered childminder from Ivybridge, was arrested after spending two days dressed as Father Christmas on the roof of Judge David Tyzack's Glebe Lodge home.

At 6.30am on November 28, he roped himself to a chimney and set up a rooftop camp.Police cordoned off the area, monitored him round the clock for two days and tried to persuade him to come down.Judge Tyzack QC, who sits at Exeter and Plymouth County Courts on family cases, was targeted for the protest because his rulings on access to children had incensed Fathers 4 Justice supporters.

A statement made on behalf of Judge Tyzack at the time said he took the shotgun out because he thought there was a trapped or wounded bird on the roof.Decisions to take no further action in both cases were taken by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Despite not facing charges himself in relation to the incident, Mr Stanesby told the Echo yesterday: "I am not very happy about no action being taken against the judge."The judge just wants to keep it quiet and drop my charges as well."My intention for the protest was to get heard."He said he wanted fathers to be treated equally in matters of family law and he would not be giving up.

Mr Stanesby claimed to have received overwhelming support for the protest."It works and it is our only way to get our voices heard," he said.Fathers 4 Justice says that it will be challenging the decision not to charge Judge Tyzack and may pursue a civil case.

The group remains indignant that the Government refuses to hold any discussions with it.In a letter from Harriet Harman to Mark Oaten, MP of Fathers 4 Justice founder Matt O'Connor, she ruled out the prospect of any meeting.Mr O'Connor said: "At least we can say we tried.

I look on the letter as a formal invitation to us to resume our activities."When we are ready we'll give our response in the time-honoured tradition. I don't expect they'll have to wait too long."A Fathers' Day demo is planned by the group in London on June 15.

Court rejects ASBO on fathers' rights veteran

2006-12-21T17:32:00.000Z

Magistrates have refused to grant an Asbo against a serial fathers' rights protestor.
Police wanted the order made against 37-year- old Jolly Stanesby, from Ivybridge, South Devon, a Fathers 4 Justice veteran who has scaled Tamar Bridge dressed as Superman and handcuffed himself to a Government minister to draw attention to his cause. All his protests were against an alleged bias against fathers in family courts.

The anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) application was made specifically to ban Mr Stanesby from going near Judge David Tyzack's home or within ten metres of Exeter Cathedral, two locations where he has staged recent protests.

It was thrown out at Honiton Magistrates Court yesterday, following a day-long hearing.
Police sought the order after Mr Stanesby climbed on to the roof of Judge Tyzack's home in East Devon in November. The court heard that Mr Stanesby believed the judge had unfairly denied him access to his daughter.

Mr Stanesby stayed on the roof for two nights. After he voluntarily came down, he was arrested under suspicion of "trespass and failure to leave land". He was released on police bail without charge until February 5, 2007.

He was also discovered by police, dressed as Father Christmas, near Exeter Cathedral on December 11. Officers believed he was about to scale the building, but he was not arrested.
Marie Macfarlane, senior legal adviser for Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, asked the court to impose the Asbo with immediate effect. She argued that Mr Stanesby was likely to cause alarm or distress to Judge Tyzack and his wife, and to people near the cathedral. She referred to Mr Stanesby's previous protests, which included handcuffing himself to children's minister Margaret Hodge, in November 2004.

Simon Cooper, defending, said the order was not necessary or proportional. He said his client had never been abusive to the judge and although his actions clearly caused distress, they did not warrant an "urgent" Asbo. He said the right to protest peacefully was a cherished British tradition. And he argued that an injunction would have an appropriate way of dealing with any perceived threat.

Magistrate David Jarrett said: "There is no evidence he is likely to commit acts before the next hearing. We do not feel an order would be justified or proportionate. Asbos should be treated with caution; they are not cure-alls and should not be lightly imposed."

FATHERS DRESS AS SANTAS FOR PROTEST

2006-12-12T15:37:00.000Z

Campaigners dressed as Santa Claus to stage a festive protest during an Exeter Cathedral carol concert.Eight members of the campaign group Fathers 4 Justice stood outside the landmark building during the Lord Mayor's carol service yesterday.

During the protest, they held placards saying "Put the father back into Christmas".They said the Church of England had failed to speak up about the problem of family breakdown.

Fathers 4 Justice member Jolly Stanesby, 39, who recently climbed onto the roof of a judge's house, attempted to scale the cathedral wall before police grabbed him.But none of the campaigners disrupted the service, which was attended by hundreds of people.

Richard Adams, Fathers 4 Justice co-ordinator for the South West, said: "It went really well and people were very supportive of our cause."A spokesman at the Bishop's office said: "Bishop Michael Langrish has a deep concern, care and passion for the wholeness of family life."

Shotgun Judge: Dad's Demand Action

2006-12-06T12:18:00.000Z

Press Release
6th December 2006, 1.30pm

Shotgun Judge: Dad's Demand Action

Campaign group Fathers 4 Justice are demanding to know what if any action Devon and Cornwall Police are taking against West Country Judge David Tyzack after he threatened to shoot an F4J protestor dressed as Father Christmas on his roof last Tuesday 28th November.

F4J Founder Matt OConnor said that Jolly Stanesby Œfeared for his life when Judge Tyzack aimed the weapon at him as he climbed the roof of the Judge¹s house at around 7.30am.

Stanesby has given a formal statement to Police (Crime Reference No KE/06/3812) but believes the matter might be swept under the carpet. Said Stanesby today, A judge is supposed to uphold the law, not break it, or for that matter aim loaded weapons at people. There are glaring inconsistencies in the public statements issued by the Judge, his wife and the Judicial Communications Office that support my case.

Even if the Police accepted at face value the statement that the Judge may have exited the property with the intent to dispatch an Œinjured bird, once it became clear it was a 6ft tall protestor in a bright red Father Christmas outfit, why was it necessary for the judge to load one chamber, cock and aim the gun it at me? I was scared witless.

Why did Mr Tyzack¹s wife describe him as brave if all he was doing was dealing with a small, injured bird? What sort of bird did Mr Tyzack think he was dispatching?

Said Matt O¹Connor, We need the Police to communicate whether the Judge has been interviewed about this offence and whether charges are going to be brought. Nobody should be above the law especially those that enforce it.

We expect to be dealt with firmly by the authorities when we protest and accept the consequences of our actions. Getting shot isnt one of them.

EDITORS NOTES:

*Under Section 16 of the Firearms Act 1968, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life or injure property is an indictable offence that carries a maximum life sentence.

*Under Section 16a of the Firearms Act 1968, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence is an indictable offence that carries a maximum tariff of 10 years.

*Fathers 4 Justice launched it¹s new web site this week at www.fathers-4-justice.org

ENDS

West Country Judge Faces Arrest After Aiming Gun At Santa

2006-12-02T16:46:00.000Z

Press Release
30th November 2006

A West Country Judge may face arrest after threatening to shoot a Fathers 4 Justice protestor dressed as Father Christmas, who scaled the roof of his home on Tuesday morning.

Fathers 4 Justice say that the protestor, Jolly Stanesby, 35, from Ivybridge, Devon will descend from the roof at approximately 3.30pm today once press and supporters are allowed up to the property by Police.

A spokesperson for the group said that Stanesby Œfeared for his life¹ when Judge Tyzack aimed the weapon at Stanesby when he was on the roof. Stanesby will press charges and his legal team will press for the arrest and questioning of the Judge on the following grounds:

*Under Section 16 of the Firearms Act 1968, that possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life or injure property is an indictable offence that carries a maximum life sentence.

*Under Section 16a of the Firearms Act 1968, that possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence is an indictable offence that carries a maximum tariff of 10 years.

Stanesby will also question whether the Judge has a current licence for the weapon and whether that licence should be revoked.

The spokesman said, ³That there are glaring inconsistencies in the public statements issued by the Judge, his wife and the Judicial Communications Office.

Even if the Police accepted at face value the statement that the Judge may exited the property with the intent to dispatch a injured bird, once it became clear it was Mr Stanesby who is 6ft tall and dressed in a bright red Father Christmas outfit, why was it necessary for the judge to load one chamber, cock and aim the gun it at him causing him to be in fear of his life.

Why did Mr Tyzack¹s wife describe him as brave if all he was doing was dealing with a small, injured bird? What sort of bird did Mr Tyzack think he as dispatching?²

ENDS

A seasoned Fathers 4 Justice campaigner has pledged to stay on the roof of a judge's house

2006-11-28T16:37:00.000Z

A seasoned Fathers 4 Justice campaigner has pledged to stay on the roof of a judge's house near Exeter for weeks after setting up camp dressed as Santa Claus.But last night Jolly Stanesby, a veteran of high profile protests, was bracing himself for an attempt by police to remove him.

He had roped himself to a chimney on Judge David Tyzack's Glebe Lodge home in Farringdon at 6.30am yesterday.

Last night he had set up a tent on the roof, was eating food he had taken with him and was listening to a radio. It was not known whether Judge Tyzack had returned.

As first revealed on the Echo's website www.thisis exeter.co.uk, the campaigner climbed on to the roof in protest at court rulings about contact he can have with his child.

Mr Stanesby claims he has a sleeping bag, wet weather gear and enough food to allow him to stay for several days.

Beyond that he wants supporters to keep supplies topped up so he can maintain his protest for weeks, but it is not yet clear whether police will allow that to happen.

Officers, who have cordoned off the area, spent yesterday trying to persuade Mr Stanesby to come down.

He used a ladder to reach Judge Tyzack's roof where he unfurled a banner that read 'Put the Father back into Xmas'.

Judge Tyzack QC has incensed Fathers 4 Justice supporters with rulings about access to children.

Mr Stanesby, 37, a registered child minder from Ivybridge, is unhappy at the amount of contact time courts have granted him.

Speaking to the Echo from the roof, Mr Stanesby said: "I want to have a share in my daughter's life and there's no reason why I shouldn't.Judge Tyzack has got a bad reputation for not giving fathers good contact time with their children. He and other judges cannot carry on like this. Judge Tyzack came out and I told him why I was here."

The judge, who sits at Exeter and Plymouth County Courts on family cases, phoned police after discovering Mr Stanesby on his roof.

Thinking the noise on his roof was a rogue or injured bird, he had initially emerged with a shotgun. Police closed roads around Farringdon to prevent other protesters joining him.

Fathers 4 Justice supporters near the scene said more high-profile stunts were planned to seek changes to the 1989 Children Act and enable fathers to have joint custody of their children.

Meanwhile, around a dozen Fathers 4 Justice protesters were dispersed by police outside Exeter Crown Court.

They warned of further protests at the homes of the former President of the Family Division, Dame Elizabeth Butler Sloss, at Marsh Green,near Exeter, and Mrs Justice Bracewell at Somerton, Somerset.

A 40-year-old man from Ottery St Mary was arrested near Farringdon for wilful obstruction of the highway

Jolly's own story -

2006-11-21T11:00:00.001Z

The ten minute wonder Mr D tyzack

Voted as one of the worst judges, Judge David Tyzack, has yet again made a name for himself by giving my 8 year old daughter R, no more than 10 minutes on the phone to me, once a week, between 5.30 and 7pm wednesday, any more time was considered being disruptive.(along with her alternate wkends.)

This after five years of wasted, unnessesary,and constant court battles.

Judge Tyzack likes me so much he refuses to leave my case.

He was more interested in the clothes I was wearing, than the welfare of my little girl.

It would be more suitable if he was cleaning the cafcass toilets, than deciding what is best for children.

Hodge handcuffing

2006-11-01T10:38:00.000Z

Margaret Hodge was in the dock today facing trial for the false imprisonment of Margaret Hodge former Child Minister.No you didn't read that wrong.

Fathers 4 Justice Campaigner Jolly Stanesby, notorious activist and famous for his part as superhero sidekick Robin on the Royal Courts of Justice, was due to face trial today at Salford Magistrates Court in Manchester for the false imprisonment of Margaret Hodge who was handcuffed by parenting rights campaigners whilst attending a conference in November 2004

Prior to the hearing Jolly had had his name changed by deed poll to Margaret Hodge.The judge presiding was not too happy at the site of the campaigner from South West England, who was wearing a T-Shirt stating "FCUK The Family Courts". He was even less amused when he asked the protesting father his name and he replied "Margaret Hodge".Mr Hodge pleaded not guilty to CPS false imprisonment charge, which is two years in the making and the trial has been adjourned until 5th February 2007.

On the 15th November fellow activist and campaigner Jason Hatch, made famous for his Buckingham Palace Batman stunt, faces the same charges in connection with the same incident.

Fathers campaigner tries to stop Queens carriage

2006-06-18T09:45:00.002Z

A fathers' rights campaigner has admitted he was "lucky" to escape with only a fine after trying to disrupt the Queen's birthday celebrations. Jolly Stanesby was one of two Fathers 4 Justice activists arrested on Saturday after trying to halt the Queen'scarriage as it made its way down The Mall.

Dressed only in Union Jack boxer shorts, Mr Stanesby, of Ivybridge, Devon, and fellow campaigner Tony Ashby from Leicester got over safety barriers lining the route as the Royal procession made its way from Buckingham Palace to see the Trooping the Colour Parade.

The protesters, arrested at around 12.30pm, were taken to a central London police station and charged with public disorder offences.Speaking yesterday, Mr Stanesby, 39, said he received an £80 fixed penalty fine for his actions, done to coincide with Father's Day.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed two men had been arrested following the incident. However, he said: "They did not get anywhere near the Queen."

Lottery show delayed by protest

2006-05-20T09:56:00.000Z

The BBC's National Lottery show was briefly delayed on Saturday evening after protesters invaded the studio and chanted slogans.

Presenter Eamonn Holmes was led from the stage as Fathers 4 Justice members made their way on to the set.

The National Lottery: Jet Set was delayed for several minutes before the draw for the £17m jackpot was resumed.

Campaign group Fathers 4 Justice said the evening marked the "dramatic return" of the protest group.

The group appeared to have disbanded in January after some of its members were accused of allegedly plotting to kidnap Prime Minister Tony Blair's youngest son, Leo.

You've a lot of very shaken, disturbed people, both watching at home and in the studio
Eamonn Holmes

Guy Harrison, a spokesman for the paternal rights group, said it was the group's duty to warn parents about family law.

Mr Harrison added: "The lottery is a metaphor for what can happen to any parent, mother or father, and their children, at the hands of the secret family courts."
Afterwards presenter Holmes said it had been a "scary moment".

Alan Dedicoat, the so-called voice of the National Lottery balls, told the BBC: "We just had a kerfuffle. What appeared to be fireworks or something going off in the studio.

"The cameras moved to one side. Eamonn was pushed to one side at one stage I think."
He added: "And the next minute we had to put a caption up and I was left talking to millions and millions of viewers trying to explain what was going on without necessarily being able to see all of it myself."

Later, Holmes said the protesters had been "well-orchestrated".

He said: "About six protesters ran out of the audience, very well positioned, very well orchestrated, they knew exactly the positions to be in and they tried to, well, I think, destroy the lottery machines.

"Fathers 4 Justice was the campaign and, you know, I think for the audience a very scary moment, whatever empathy or sympathy many people may have with Fathers 4 Justice, again, you've a lot of very shaken, disturbed people, both watching at home and in the studio."

Jolly Stanesby, right, a member of protest group Fathers 4 Justice (F4J), said a move to open up family courts to the Press would make them more 'accountable'.

Mr Stanesby, one of six campaigners who stormed the set of the televised National Lottery draw in May, said F4J protests had persuaded the Government to propose the change.

But he warned F4J would be planning more high-profile protests until members of the public were allowed to sit in on court proceedings.

Mr Stanesby said: "It's a great start and it's obvious that some of our hard work is paying off. The system is corrupt, but this should make the courts a little more accountable.

"The campaign will continue, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. None of this would have happened had we not been doing what we've been doing."

About 400,000 cases are heard in family courts every year, but currently almost all take place in private to protect those involved.

Mr Stanesby added that F4J was planning a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience, to be called 'I-Witness', to further its cause.

He said: "We are having a meeting next week to move things on.

"What we're thinking of doing is sitting in courts and waiting for them to throw us out."

Drag being a dad

2005-07-01T12:33:00.000Z

Second severn crossing protest

2004-12-21T11:16:00.000Z

The Severn Bridge was shut for several hours during the protestFour fathers' rights campaigners who closed the M4 after scaling a gantry on the Severn Bridge have each been given a conditional discharge by a court.

The three men and one woman, members of the Fathers 4 Justice group, were dressed as Santa Claus for the protest.

The M4 was closed both ways during the five-hour protest on 28 November, 2004.
Elaine Risk, and Michael Downes, from Manchester, Jolly Stanesby, of Devon, and Darryl Westell, of Nottingham, admitted causing a public nuisance.

No evidence was offered at Newport Crown Court on a further charge of causing a danger to other road users by interfering with traffic equipment.

I can't encourage protest, but the reality is that there is a long standing history of respectful and peaceful protest in this country

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC

The court heard that the M4 between England and Wales was closed for several hours while the demonstration was held.

Martyn Kelly, prosecuting, said: "On November 28, the defendants, as part of their campaign, climbed onto a gantry.

"The nuisance is that the sergeant who had to take an operational decision at that stage, felt quite clearly there was a danger.

"As a result of that, he called for the M4 to be closed. That meant in both directions because everything had to go up the old A48, over the old bridge."
'Humorous protest'

Piers Marquis, defending Risk, 45, and Downes, 43, said his clients' actions were part of a legitimate protest.

He added: "This was clearly a protest and demonstration that was raising a legitimate point of public interest.

"It was peaceful, it was humorous, and was without malice or ill intent."

Huw Wallace, defending Stanesby 39, and Westell, 23, said: "There was no accident as a result of what they did.

"It was a peaceful, humorous protest and they came down, not willingly, but when the police came up for them.

"They had legitimate grievances and they brought it to the public's attention. There was no intent to cause the disruption that occurred."

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told the four, who were wearing Fathers 4 Justice t-shirts in the dock: "I hope I'm sensible enough to realise this is not the run-of-the-mill criminal case.
"I don't think for one minute that any of you were acting in malice.
"I can't encourage protest - you appreciate that - but the reality is

that there is a long standing history of respectful and peaceful protest in this country."
In addition to a 12-month conditional discharge imposed on each of the four, Judge Durham Hall also ordered them to pay £50 costs each.

Outside the court, Jolly Stanesby said: "If the laws were a bit fairer, we wouldn't have done it. I don't think we should have been here in the first place."

Fathers rights campaigner cuffs himself to Children's Minister

2004-11-19T10:16:00.000Z

Fathers 4 Justice campaigner arrested for handcuffing himself to children's minister Margaret Hodge has been released on police bail.

Jolly Stanesby, 39, of Devon, stormed the stage at a family law conference in Salford, Greater Manchester.

The registered childminder said the stunt was the only way to get the group's message across.
A spokesman for Fathers 4 Justice said the protest was the first of a planned "Christmas of chaos".

Mr Stanesby, whose real name is Jonathan, used borrowed handcuffs to attach himself to the minister as she spoke at the conference.

The pair were cuffed together for 40 minutes before bolt cutters were used to separate them and he was arrested.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said Mrs Hodge, Labour MP for Barking, was unharmed.

After being released by police, Mr Stanesby said he acted after hearing Mrs Hodge come out with the "same old rant".

He said: "I do not enjoy it, I am sick of it, but what am I supposed to do?

Protest held over fathers' rights - Blackwall tunnel

2004-10-29T09:49:00.000Z

Protest held over fathers' rights

Protesters from a fathers' rights group have brought traffic to a near standstill on some of London's key roads. The men from Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) climbed onto gantries on the A13, A2, M4, and A40.

Roads were closed for a short period while police assessed the scene but they have since reopened.

The protests are part of a campaign of events by F4J to raise awareness of the plight of divorced fathers.

A spokesman for the group said that the protests were the beginning of a full scale campaign of civil disruption.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman confirmed on Monday that the Metropolitan Police's public order branch was policing a "number of demonstrations" across the city.

She said police were alerted to a man on a gantry above the eastbound section of the A40 in White City at 0730 GMT, but traffic was flowing.

In another demonstration a man had climbed on the gantry above the westbound carriageway of the A13 near Prince Regents Lane.

And another man had climbed a gantry near Canning Town flyover.

At about 0812 GMT police were told about two men on the Blackwall Tunnel northbound entrance, southern approach. The entrance was later closed for safety reasons.

Scotland Yard said the two men were later arrested.

Police were also informed of another protest where a man had climbed on the gantry of the M4 elevated section eastbound into London.

There was no disruption to traffic in this protest.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A group campaigning for fathers' rights warned yesterday that a series of protests on bridges and gantries which caused widespread chaos was "just the start" of a national campaign of civil disruption involving roads, railways and the courts.
Activists from Fathers 4 Justice scaled bridges and gantries in London, Bristol and Newcastle-upon-Tyne yesterday, disrupting traffic.

Police closed the Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol when four protesters, dressed as Batman, Robin, Superman and Spider-Man, climbed up it at 5.30am.

The group has also announced it is to start a new campaign of direct action on Merseyside - sending protesters to lobby the homes of solicitors, barristers and judges.

In Bristol, Fathers 4 Justice's spokesman, Jeff Skinner, said: "All motorists have been denied access to the suspension bridge this morning, as all our members are denied access to their children."

The bridge was closed for safety reasons and motorists in the Clifton and Leigh Woods districts of the city were warned to expect long delays.

In south London, two men demonstrating on a gantry at the entrance of the Blackwall tunnel were arrested.

Scotland Yard said they had been brought down as it was feared they presented a danger to traffic.

One of the men was Jolly Stanesby, 35, a childminder from Devon, who last Friday ended a week-long protest on a gantry over the Tamar bridge near Plymouth.

Protests were also staged on bridges above the A13, A2, M4 and A40 in London.

The first activist climbed on to a gantry above the A40 at around 7.30am.

The organisation's founder, Matt O'Connor, said activists were planning a campaign of widespread civil disobedience.

"If you give a father no options, you leave him no choice," Mr O'Connor said at a press conference yesterday. "Fatherhood is under attack in a way inconceivable 30 years ago."

A spokesman for the force said: "Anyone is entitled to protest peacefully in this country. This was a peaceful protest."

Family law conference

2004-10-23T09:39:00.000Z

Fathers 4 Justice protestors have overpowered police and stormed a conference on family law, setting off smoke bombs and flares and forcing the evacuation of the building.

The fathers' rights group was hoping to get the chance to remonstrate with the children and families minister, Lord Filkin, outside the conference venue, which is next to the Regent's canal in north London.

The group's spokesman, Matt O'Connor, told SocietyGuardian.co.uk that the minister could have found himself "in at the deep end".

Acting on a tip-off, the police stationed three divers and a dinghy in the canal as a precaution, and more than 30 policemen were brought in to guard the conference centre.

But the group's plan to confront Lord Filkin was thwarted by the fact that he had been reshuffled out of his family law role in September. His replacement, Baroness Ashton, addressed the conference before the protestors arrived.

The protest began at 11.30 when two men, one an able-bodied man in a wheelchair, had attempted to gain access to the conference run by the charity Children Law UK, after registering as members of a bogus organisation.

Their names were passed on to the Metropolitan police who identified them as members of the group Fathers 4 Justice, and they were turned away at the door.

The plan had been for the man in the wheelchair to "stage a miraculous recovery" in the conference hall and disrupt the meeting, said Mr O'Connor.

Fifteen policemen and police divers had been drafted in after the organisers got wind of the operation: but at lunchtime 15 protestors overpowered police on the door and set off flares in the foyer.

Fire alarms were set off, forcing the building, which is home to the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, to be evacuated.

Around 20 extra police were brought in and prevented the men from gaining access to the conference hall. Eight men were arrested.

The conference has now restarted and is due to be addressed by Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, the head of the family division at the high court.

Mr O'Connor said: "We have had a protest outside the family law conference. Unfortunately our original plan was rumbled but we got 15 people inside and flares were set off after two policemen were overpowered.

"There are policemen in a dinghy on the canal. The conference has restarted but we want to make as much noise as possible."

He said the stunt was prompted by an interview with Lord Filkin published in the Guardian yesterday, in which the minister described as "wet" those fathers who did not persist in getting contact with their children after the first knockback.

"Well, we are beside a canal," said Mr O'Connor. "He could have been in at the deep end."

Glyn Farrow, the spokesman for the conference organisers, said: "Children Law UK appreciates the experience of fathers who have been unable to maintain contact with their children.

Bristol County court

2004-09-20T11:34:00.000Z

Two Fathers 4 Justice campaigners dressed as Batman and Robin were among 16 people arrested on Monday.

The pair had mounted a rooftop protest outside Bristol County Court where Buckingham Palace protester Jason Hatch was attending a hearing.

The men, a 34-year-old from Bristol, and a 52-year-old from west Wales, came down of their own accord.

However, two more protesters, including one in a Spiderman mask, remained perched on the roof for most of the afternoon. Jolly Stanesby was dressed as Spiderman and Gary Swain is dressed in his decontamination suit.

Meanwhile, a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner in a Spiderman mask and another in a decontamination suit protested from the roof of the County Court.

The man in the decontamination suit was said to be there to "clean up" family law.

They remained there for the afternoon, before coming down by late evening, when they were arrested.

The other people arrested include 60-year-old Carmen Taylor from Bristol, and the campaign group's founder Matt O'Connor.

Mrs Taylor said she was supporting her son, Nigel Clay, who said he was proud as his mother was placed into a police van after being arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

"My mother is an active grandma and sees how unfairly fathers are treated by the courts," he said.

Campaigning in the name of the father

2004-09-13T17:27:00.000Z

I T WAS a compelling spectacle. Someone dressed as Batman had breached the security of Buckingham Palace and was standing on a ledge protesting about fathers' rights. The demonstration was being broadcast live on TV. We watched as police officers tried to talk him on to a balcony.

It would be difficult not to find this at least a bit amusing. Except that when you get past that initial response you realise that this is desperately sad. The father in question was Jason Hatch, a 32-year-old painter and decorator from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He unfurled a banner which read "Super Dads Of Fathers 4 Justice - fighting for your right to your kids".
This was the second big headline-grabbing protest by a member of Fathers 4 Justice (F4J). On May 19 another campaigner set off a similar security scare when he threw harmless purple powder at MPs in the House of Commons.

The controversy over royal security following Monday's stunt has put F4J back in the national spotlight, and that's just how they want it.

It would be easy to dismiss these campaigners as a collection of aggrieved mavericks. It would be too easy to look no further than the comicality of a father dressed as a caped crusader who has scaled one of the nation's landmark buildings.

But Jason Hatch was by no means the first to resort to such tactics.
And the question that begs is this: why do these fathers feel they have no alternative in making themselves heard? Look beyond the obvious and this becomes a heart-rending and vexed issue of our times that touches on the lives of thousands of separating couples. The fathers feel as if they have been rendered almost invisible by the family courts.

The group is campaigning for equality in law for both parents over access to their children following divorce. At present there is no legal assumption of access or shared custody. And all too often the big losers in all of this, the ones who often suffer most from the tug-of-love and rivalry between a separated couple, are the children trying to come to terms with it.
The statistics highlight the scale of the problem. There were more than 147,000 divorces in England and Wales in 2002, the highest since 1996. Fathers 4 Justice calculates that 650 children a day have parents who separate or divorce - 237,250 children were affected in 2001.

Forty per cent of marriages end in separation.
That adds up to a lot of heartbreak and scattered homes.
It is no longer just a problem for individuals, but it is so widespread that it is a major social problem.

It is further compounded by the thorniness of the divorce and settlement process, involving Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), the CSA (Child Support Agency), and the ensuing custody and access hearings.

It means a father or a mother can lose thousands of pounds, even their livelihood, as the legal fees pile up.
The disputes can continue for years without resolution.
So, for these fathers, high-profile protests are the only way of getting wider society, the Government and the judiciary to take notice.
The thinking behind F4j's peaceful "direct action" protests was adopted from Greenpeace. And they are starting to achieve results, with both the Government and the Opposition being forced to examine the reform of family law.

Matt O'Connor, who founded Fathers 4 Justice in December 2002, explained: "We've got so many people wanting to join that we are struggling to cope." The seriousness of that message was underlined in July when F4J produced a document called A Blueprint For Family Law In The 21st Century: The Case For Urgent, Radical Reform.

But why should it have come to this? Jolly Stanesby, 38, from Ivybridge, has been one of the most prominent and prolific of the F4J campaigners. He separated from his partner in 2000 and is seeking more regular contact with their four-year-old daughter. His protests have included three days atop a crane in Exeter last September, three days on London's Tower Bridge in December, and seven days up the Tamar Bridge in January.

He explained: "What else can we do? If we didn't do it with some humour we'd be looked at as grumpy dads.

"But really, this is not a funny issue. If someone had a conviction for hitting someone or beating someone up, then I could understand why they couldn't see their children. But there should be equal rights unless there's a good reason otherwise." Mr Stanesby believes the system needs to be simplified and a greater emphasis placed on mediation.

Another Westcountry father, who has asked not to be named, explained the determination of the campaigners: "A parent's bond with their child is the strongest and most powerful they will ever have with anyone. It doesn't just end because the court says so." He has been campaigning for greater access to his six-year-old daughter.

"I have to apply to see my girl, and I'm her father, yet there's no suggestion that I'm a threat to anyone," he said.

"My ex-wife now has a new boyfriend and he can see my daughter at any time, without any checks. Where is the sense in that? "When I don't have access, I'm not allowed to write to her or phone her. This has been very painful for my daughter and it's all so unnecessary.
"I've heard her crying at night and I've tried to explain as much as I can. But it's so difficult for a little girl, and why should she be worrying about these things?"

On Monday: The WMN begins a major series looking at the debates and stories behind the protests, and the need for reforms.

Dads' rights protesters at court

2004-05-18T09:25:00.000Z

Two men have launched a fathers' rights protest on the roof of a Devon court building.

The pair climbed on to the top of Plymouth's Crown and County Court at about 0600 BST on Tuesday.

Dressed as Spiderman and Batman, Jolly Stanesby, from Ivybridge and Gary Swain, from Crewkerne, Somerset are members of Fathers 4 Justice.

Police cordoned off the front of the court, but the day's proceedings were not affected.

The two men unfurled a banner on top of the court reading: "Still the UK's worst family court."
Mr Stanesby said he was protesting against alleged injustices in child custody hearings.
"The family courts are held in secret so nobody finds these things out.

"Fathers 4 Justice wants to let people know what goes on behind closed doors."

Fathers 4 Justice campaigns for equal parenting rights and a legal presumption of contact for parents and grandparents following separation or divorce.

Bridge protester defiant in cold

2004-01-23T10:43:00.000Z

Bridge protester defiant in cold

A man who has been protesting on a bridge on the Devon and Cornwall border is ending his fifth day 20 feet up on the gantry.

Jolly Stanesby, 35, a registered childminder from Ivybridge in Devon and member of the pressure group Fathers 4 Justice, climbed onto the gantry over the Tamar Bridge at Plymouth on Friday morning.

The start of the protest caused chaos to commuter traffic and the bridge was closed for 90 minutes.

Mr Stanesby was joined by three other protesters at the beginning of the demonstration, who were later arrested.

The first woman to take part in one of the protests, mother-of-one Jayne Woodman, 36, a human resources manager from Swansea, south Wales, was released without charge.
A 38-year-old man and a 46-year-old man, both from London, were released on police bail to return at a later date.

The demonstration on the bridge has prompted a review of security measures by its management team.

Mr Stanesby also demonstrated at the Royal Courts of Justice in London in October.

A Fathers for Justice protester who caused traffic chaos after spending a week camped above the Tamar Bridge has walked free from court.

The prosecution at Plymouth Crown Court dropped the case against Jolly Stanesby, saying there was not a realistic chance of a conviction.

Business leaders said the protest had caused delays and frustration.
Mr Stanesby, 39, of Ivybridge, Devon said he wanted to draw attention to the plight of fathers.

Mr Stanesby is a veteran of Fathers 4 Justice protestsLong tailbacks resulted on both the Devon and Cornwall sides of the Tamar Bridge when Mr Stanesby and other protesters climbed onto a 20ft-high gantry on 23 January.

Devon and Cornwall Business Council said the delays had lost £5m of business.
"There is a tremendous amount of anxiety and anger about this, particularly among small businesses," said chairman Tim Jones.

Mr Stanesby, who had been accused of causing danger to road users, said after the case: "I do not see it as causing a lot of inconvenience. They didn't close the roads.

"I feel very strongly about these views and the general public need to know what's going on."
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: "Each case is considered on its own merits and the Crown Prosecution Service will be made aware of any new information, even if it does not support the prosecution.

"We will look closely at the circumstances of this case to see what we can learn to help us deal with this type of protest in the future".

Rally over fathers' rights

2003-10-22T14:30:00.000Z

A group calling for a change in the way fathers are treated in family courts have held a rally in central London.
Fathers 4 Justice organised the demonstration on Wednesday as part of its campaign of civil disobedience across the UK.

It wants divorced fathers to be given proper access to their children.

Michael Cox, the group's legal adviser, claimed 2,000 people took part in the protest marching to Temple Place via the Royal Courts of Justice and Lincoln's Inn Fields.

The rally follows a costumed roof-top protest at the Royal Courts of Justice which began on Tuesday.

'Reduced to pleading'

Campaigners Jolly Stanesby, from Ivybridge, Devon, and Eddie Goreckwi, from Romford, Essex, who are dressed up as Batman and Robin, are into the second day of their week-long protest.

Mr Cox said: "We were marching today to draw attention to the fact the family courts are failing to act in the best interests of our children.

"We want a legal presumption of contact. As parents men don't have a right to see their children following a divorce or separation.

"All they have is a right to apply to court to see their children but the courts are institutionally biased against the father.

"Fathers are reduced to pleading with the mother to see their children."

Previous action by campaigners includes painting the doors of court welfare offices purple - the international colour of equality.

Police said they are continuing to monitor the two men on the roof of the Royal Courts.

Batman Rooftop Protest

2003-10-21T09:42:00.000Z

Two men dressed as Batman and Robin are holding a rooftop protest at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London over the treatment of fathers in the family courts.

Campaigners Jolly Stanesby, from Ivybridge, Devon, and Eddie Goreckwi, from Romford, Essex, climbed onto the roof of the building on The Strand just after 0400 BST on Tuesday.
Group spokesman Glen Poole said the men were a new group called “the caped crusaders for justice”.

He said they were hoping to draw attention to the group’s campaign to ensure divorced fathers were given proper access to their children.

The protesters had scaled the side of the court building in The Strand at just after 4am.
The men intended to remain on top of the Royal Courts of Justice for a week and had taken food, clothes and bedding with them, he added.

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that two men dressed as Batman and Robin were on the roof of the courts.
“We are monitoring the situation and trying to persuade them to come down,” he said.

Father's crane protest continues

2003-09-12T12:09:00.000Z

Mr Stanesby has enough provisions to last for more than a week

A man who climbed 120 feet (36 metres) to the top of a crane in Exeter is entering the third day of his protest.

Jolly Stanesby, who is a member of a pressure group, Fathers 4 Justice, which speaks for men who say they are being denied access to their children, climbed the crane at the site of the new Crown Court at about 0700 BST on Wednesday.

Mr Stanesby said he will stay there for a week, but has enough provisions for longer.

Speaking to the BBC from a mobile phone in the crane's cab, he said he was a registered child-minder with no criminal record and that he only sees his daughter for two hours once a fortnight.

Actions endorsed

He said: "I just want to be able to share my daughter's life. There's no reason why I shouldn't."

Fathers 4 Justice said it endorsed Mr Stanesby's actions.

Contractors at the construction site said security was adequate and they could not explain how Mr Stanesby managed to climb to the top of the gantry.

Police are negotiating with him to bring him down and said they will review the case to see if any criminal offences are being committed.

Yet Another Building site brought to standstill by current wave of Outraged Father Protests

Police negotiators in Devon are trying to persuade a protester to come down from the top of a 120-feet high crane at a building site.

At about 0700 BST on Wednesday the man from Plymouth climbed to the top of the crane at the site of the new Crown Court in Exeter.

He is from a pressure group, Fathers 4 Justice, which campaigns for contact rights for fathers and he is threatening to stay on the crane for a week.

A crane driver is also in the cab and the machinery has been disabled.

Speaking to the BBC from a mobile phone in the crane's cab he said, despite being a registered child-minder with no criminal record, he only sees his daughter for two hours once a fortnight.

"I just want to be able to share my daughter's life," he said.

"There's no reason why I shouldn't.

"My daughter wants to be with me, and there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to have good contact with my daughter and in many cases it's the same."

PC Roy Adams said police will review the case to see if any criminal offences are being committed.

"The fact is that he has entered the building site as a trespasser and that's where any offence occurs," he said.

"Trespassing itself is not a matter which the police can take any action on."

'Adequate security'

Matthew O'Connor from Fathers 4 Justice says the protestor's food supplies could last longer than a week.

"That is not to say he could probably last for a month if he wants to," said Mr O'Connor.

"This is a well-organised, well-planned event by him.

"Fathers 4 Justice endorses this type of action, particularly direct action against family courts."

The main contractor at the site, Alfred McAlpine, says security is adequate and cannot explain how the man managed to climb to the top of the gantry