Tuesday, 19, Aug 2008 04:35

We interview Matt O'Conner, founder of Fathers 4 Justice, to find out quite how many more superhero stunts angry commuters are going to have to put up with.

Yesterday a man dressed as Batman got up on a gantry on the M25 between junctions 14 and 15. He didn't do anything in particular, but drivers experienced 90 minute delays and the media pitched up to ask him questions. Job done.

The public is becoming increasingly used to Fathers 4 Justice, the campaign group who specialise in dressing up as superheroes and generally disrupting things. Whether it's climbing on to Harriet Harman's roof or throwing a purple powder bomb at Tony Blair during prime minister's questions, the group have a way of grabbing the media spotlight.

But yesterday's protest provoked more irritation than usual. As a group, Fathers 4 Justice generally earns more sympathy than most demonstrators, with a large swathe of the public tacitly supporting their campaign to keep fathers in their children's lives after divorce. Tacit support is generally not something you want to put too much pressure on. And for the families driving to Heathrow yesterday for their holidays, Batman may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

Well, first things first, this wasn't technically a Fathers 4 Justice action.

"I should stress this isn't part of our strategy at the moment," Matt O'Conner, group founder, tells me as he travels to the BBC's Millbank studios.

"This is one individual's action which he did off his own back, but which we support.

In terms of direct action we will support people. This one, well, one of our activist coordinators only heard about it last night. But provided it's non-violent direct action we'll support it."

It's a dangerous tactic though, isn't it? One that risks turning the public against you.

"It depends how bad the situation gets," he replies. "At the moment we give people an outlet for their frustration.

"These aren't stunts. These are emergency calls. This is us sounding the alarm about something everyone is aware of - family breakdown. Mass fatherlessness is a problem in this country, but politicians don't seem to recognise it.

"People were caught in traffic for 90 minutes. That's a click of the fingers compared to a man separated from his kids for a week, a month, a year."

It's an old argument, as old as modern protest. No demonstrator worth their salt believes a few people's inconvenience counts as much as war in Iraq, or third world hunger, or fathers separated from their children. The aim of the demonstration is to disrupt the life of the country, forcing politicians to address the reasons for the protest, and to tap the media on the shoulder, making them pay attention.

Sometimes - rarely in this country - it works, but in the process you can alienate a lot of people.

"The sad thing is everything needs to look like an action movie to get in the news," says O'Conner. "They don't want intelligent argument, they need something eye-catching or else you don't get your message out."

It could be worse. Back in 2004 the group was launching simultaneous protests on a pretty impressive scale. The Dartford tunnel, the A40, the M4, the M14 - all on a single day.

"There's nothing new to it," he continues. "In 2004 there was a plan to shut down the M25 entirely and all the railway lines going into London."

I smirk. How exactly were you intending to do that, I ask.

"That would be telling," he replies. I smirk again. I wouldn't be smirking if I was on a train going into London when they did. Or worse - trying to get out of London for my holidays. But you never feel as angry about your inconvenience as the demonstrator does about his cause.

To O'Conner, only direct action has a chance of dealing with his grievances. "The largest constituency of floating voters is single mothers and women. I mean, the swing from when Gordon Brown was popular to when he wasn't was six per cent among men, but 40 per cent among women. Look at what that did to him.

"All the main parties toe the line on this. We won't solve it unless we keep up the pressure, even if traffic disruption is not a current Fathers 4 Justice strategy."

It may not be, but there are plenty of men who share O'Conner's anger, and with Fathers 4 Justice's support they will probably keep on making appearances on your TV screen. So keep an eye out for superheroes on the roads. They're not there to save you. They're there to ruin your day.

Ian Dunt

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Jennifer D, USA: Sadly, some of these "fathers" have been determined by the courts to be abusive to either mom or child or both. This is what we do not hear when we see superman or batman scaling buildings. When the courts get it right in removing an abusive man from his children's lives we do not need to pity the man, we need to applaud the efforts of the courts in protecting these innocent lives. Many men also claim that when the legal system is unable to prosecute these abuse charges, or when the abuse is not illegal (such as medical, financial, verbal, or mental), that the charges were false. Inability to prosecute does not equate to false. There are also many tiems over that a mother is unable to afford adequate legal representation and the father is able to do so, and the child is sent to live with an abuser. Any man who abuses the mother of his chidlren is not fit to be a parent to that child. This should not ever be debated. Children's rights should always come first, and an abusive man (even if he only abused the mother) should not have any rights.

Kenyatte Hay, US: Very good point, its an outlet that is saving the lives of those in the wrong legal systems and broken homes. Taking a parents child is the rightful cause of temporary insanity. Temp insanity from catching your spouse cheating is nothing compared to your child being legally kidnapped. Anything that helps a parent cope with losing a child is a good thing and I gladly be a few minutes late for work to allow a hurting parent to express their pain in a positve way.

Kenyatte Hay, USA: Very good point, its an outlet that is saving the lives of those in the wrong legal systems and broken homes. Taking a parents child is the rightful cause of temporary insanity. Temp insanity from catching your spouse cheating is nothing compared to your child being legally kidnapped. Anything that helps a parent cope with losing a child is a good thing and I gladly be a few minutes late for work to allow a hurting parent to express their pain in a positve way.

Sheila O'Neill, Chichester:Here is what my son had to say:- Mum, I cannot see why men dress up in daft outfits and make fools of themselves. I replied "It is to gain public awareness of the plight of father's (and mother) being seperated from their children and not having any contact. The same can be said for parent or parents who have had their children removed by social services. My son replied "I would not let a social worker walk in my home and take my children, even if it meant going to prison for stopping them. I replied "that is what fathers are doing, risking and breaking the law because they have had their children removed from them". He thought for a moment and hugged me. Mum he said, if anyone removed my children I would also do what fathers4justice have done. My sons were taken into care on a false care order in 1998. They walked out of care when they reached 14yrs and 15yrs old. I had no contact and fought through the courts for all those years. I joined groups including fathers4justice. I know that there has to be groups who go for media attention. Without them our very foundations of family life with be eroded away by a unfair, unjust and sometimes corrupt system that does not work in the child's best interest. Family law reform is urgently needed and family courts need to be opened up in cases where children are removed by social workers. Until then the huge suffering will go on and there will always be abuse by the system and children's homes like Jersey. Abuse on a large scale is happening in this country, here and now, right under our noses, yet ignored. Fathers4justice have an important role. They managed to bring peoples attention to a very important issue and it has just scratched the surface and one layer of injustice. The layers to come are even more shocking. Carry on f4j. You work in the true interests of children. Those are the words of my son.

Ellis, UK: Whilst all is true re the lack of parity in family law which removes wholesome role models on the paternal side of a childs life after the parents seperate or divorce. The reality seen by many is that Mr O'Connor's interest is more about his own ego and how best to keep his name in the spotlight, sad but true and as such will lead to still more suffering for those who follow him.

Donald Tenn, California USA: THREE CHEERS FOR F4J. Direct action is the only manner in which we will affect change.

Feminazi, Hereford: keep the good work up, if it wasn't for F4J i wouldn't be seeing my daughter.I fully support you guys!!

Goneas, Greece: Our solution: The creation of european political parti www.sos-sygapa.eu

J K Pitrola, Ilford: My 6 year old grandson was held up for three hours on his way to the Legoland due to this stupid stunt. How can you explain to a young boy why it is taking for ever to get there. Where is his justice? I bet there were thousands of other children and families affected due to no fault of their own. My sympathy for this group of protestors has all but evaporated? A bad PR, ill thought and stupid act designed to hurt those whose support they need. Get real wake up!!!!!!

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