Betrayal of the family: Despite all those Tory promises, fathers and grandparents will still be denied the right to see children after a divorce



Fathers will be denied the right to have a 'meaningful relationship' with their families, report suggests

Iain Duncan Smith will fight to do more for men, his aides pledge

Fathers and grandparents will not be given any legal right to see children after a break-up, under the biggest changes to family law in a generation.

In what was immediately denounced as a ‘betrayal’ of the family, a major report today rules against giving men shared or equal time with their children when a relationship ends.

It suggests fathers will even be denied the legal right to maintain a ‘meaningful relationship’ with their families, as this ‘would do more harm than good’.

Frozen out: Both fathers and grandparents could lose the right to see children under a huge shake-up to family law

The review also kicks into touch Coalition pledges to make it easier to maintain contact with grandchildren when parents separate, a problem that usually affects those on the father’s side.

The long-awaited Family Justice Review was branded a ‘monstrous sham’ that undermines David Cameron’s pledge to lead the most family-friendly government in history.

The independent report was commissioned by ministers to examine the case for reform of a family law system repeatedly accused of putting rights of mothers over those of fathers and grandparents.

But its proposals – likely to form the basis of future government family policy – sparked an immediate Cabinet revolt.

Pledge: David Cameron, pictured yesterday, promised to lead the most family-friendly Government in history. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, right, will do more for fathers and grandparents, his allies said



Break-up: Fathers will lose the right to have a meaningful relationship with their children when they split from their partner, the long-awaited Family Justice Review appeared to suggest

Allies of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said he would fight to ensure the Government’s response – due to be published in January – will do more for fathers and grandparents.

A source close to the Cabinet minister said that the findings were ‘absurd’, warning that they undermined attempts to tackle the generation of fatherless youths blamed for the summer’s riots.

But Justice Secretary Ken Clarke is expected to back the review, chaired by former civil servant and Marks & Spencer executive David Norgrove.

His report was commissioned by Labour and dismissed by the Tories in Opposition as inadequate but will now form the basis of Coalition legislation.

The review comes against a backdrop of soaring divorce rates and increasing numbers of children being born out of wedlock, often to co-habitees who are more likely to break up than married couples.

Last year there were almost three million children aged under 16 living in a lone-parent household – or 24 per cent of the total.

Mr Norgrove’s findings fly in the face of studies showing that it is best for a child to have extensive access to both its father and mother.

The report says: ‘No legislation should be introduced that creates or risks creating the perception that there is a parental right to substantially shared or equal time for both parents.’

Mr Norgrove has even watered down his own interim report, published in March, which said there should be a legal presumption that children should have a ‘meaningful relationship’ with both parents.

MAGGIE'S MILLIONAIRE



The head of the Family Justice Review is a millionaire economist with three children of his own.

David Norgrove, 63, pictured, earned a reputation as a tough taskmaster during 16 years in a string of senior roles at Marks & Spencer.

He quit in 2004 following a disastrous set of Christmas results for the retailer, taking with him a £754,000 pay-off and a £100,000-a-year pension.

As trustee of the firm’s pension fund he then famously saw off a hostile £9.1billion takeover bid from Sir Philip Green.

Mr Norgrove, who lives in Islington, North London, took an unlikely career break, flying to New Zealand for a six-week stint as a farmhand.

But the former Treasury economist – who served as Margaret Thatcher’s private secretary in Downing Street – soon returned to work, becoming the first chairman of the Pensions Regulator in 2005.

He remains chairman of the Low Pay Commission.

Mr Norgrove believes that enshrining such rights in law could slow down already lengthy and expensive custody cases.

Instead, the courts will simply have to consider the benefits of a meaningful relationship when they decide where children should live and how often they should see each parent.

The final report flatly rejected claims by fathers’ rights groups that the current system is biased – despite figures showing that 93 per cent of custody battles are won by the mother.

Nadine O’Connor, of the Fathers 4 Justice campaign group, said: ‘The review is a monstrous sham and a bureaucratic exercise in improving the efficiency of injustice. It will feed the epidemic of mass fatherlessness and lead to further social unrest.

‘This report condemns children to a life without fathers with catastrophic social consequences.’

The report also contradicts pledges by senior officials earlier this year that grandparents would be given far greater rights.

Instead, they will still have to apply to court twice to see their grandchildren: once for the right to begin a case and then to seek access to their loved ones.

The Norgrove panel merely issued a tepid recommendation that their role should be ‘emphasised’.

Instead of legal protections for fathers and grandparents, the Norgrove report laid out plans to encourage parents to settle disputes before they get to court.

All parents will be given advice on drawing up ‘parenting agreements’ to divide the care of their children.

James Deuchars, of Grandparents Apart UK, said: ‘The Tories said before the election that grandparents were going to have more rights. This is a betrayal of that promise. It was all a con and a gimmick.

‘This report is trying to do away with the traditional family. The result will be more bitter and disillusioned young boys who join gangs.’

A source close to Mr Cameron said the Government has ‘certainly not’ pledged to adopt all the report’s recommendations.

But a source close to Mr Clarke described it as ‘an authoritative account of the problems and a thoughtful look at the solutions’.