It has been revealed that Boris Johnson fathered a lovechild in 2009. His identity as the father of the child had been kept secret from the public until now, due to an injunction put in place by the child’s mother, Helen Macintyre.

The child was referred to in previous articles as ‘AAA’. You can see Guido Fawkes refer to the case in 2012 (when the injunction was still in place) here:

http://order-order.com/2012/07/25/philandering-politicians-love-child-awarded-15000/

Yesterday’s ruling in the Court of Appeal can be found on the following link. Boris Johnson is not named, but it features the judge’s declaration that the issue should not be kept private from the public on the grounds of legitimate public interest:

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2013/554.html

And finally, a link to the article itself. So far, only the Daily Mail have reported on the actual identity of the child’s father. You can read the story here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2328067/Boriss-secret-lovechild-victory-publics-right-know-Judge-rejects-lovers-attempts-daughters-birth-quiet.html

Following his disastrous interview with Eddie Mair back in March (video here), Boris’s integrity appears to be scrutinised in public more than it used to be. We all know that Boris has had affairs in the past, but will the revelation of the lovechild – in the wake of the Mair interview – only serve to discredit him further?

Also, there is a clear debate about which is more important: holding politicians to account in the public interest, or the privacy of his lovechild? Hopefully the press will avoid reporting/photographing her when she’s older, and she’ll have chance to live her life without interference from the press. After all, the revealing of her identity is just an unfortunate side-effect of the whole affair. But should her privacy be paramount?

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.