Two married men whose union ran into difficulties after they arranged to have a child by surrogate "abdicated their responsibilities" to the little girl, a High Court judge told them yesterday.

Mrs Justice Theis made criticisms, and outlined the "legal complexities" of the case, in a ruling after analysing a number of issues relating to the little girl following a family court hearing in London.

Ruling no-one involved could be identified, she said the little girl, who is now three, was living in New York with her genetic father. She also said the second man was living in London and wanted to remain part of the little girl's life.

The court heard the little girl was born to an American surrogate mother in Missouri in September 2014 and had become the subject of litigation in London and the United States.

The man living in London wanted Mrs Justice Theis to rule that he should be made a legal parent, but she refused to make that order because she said the man had not proved that he had a permanent home in the legal jurisdiction of England or Wales.

The judge said the girl's genetic father had lived in the US for several years and had no meaningful ties to the UK.

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Mrs Justice Theis said, therefore, under English law the girl's surrogate mother would continue to be her "legal parent".

She told the court: "In my judgment, (the men) have each abdicated their responsibilities to do this to the detriment of (the girl's) lifelong welfare needs, particularly those relating to her identity.

"Her legal status is precious and important, not something that can or should be treated irresponsibly as part of the inevitable maelstrom following a relationship breakdown."

Mrs Justice Theis said she was heartened to see that the men appeared willing to mediate and explore ways in which the man living in London could see the little girl.