"Although it is, in essence, a very simple contact dispute which could perfectly well be dealt with in the Family Proceedings Court, it has been elevated to the High Court and a number of very experienced High Court judges have given it their anxious consideration, including Wilson J, Kirkwood J, Holman J and Bracewell J."
"It has been said more than once that this has been the most damaging battle waged between the parents seen by the courts for some years with direct and very serious effect upon all three children .... It is a very, very sad case and my heart goes out to these three children"
"If the Judge finds that the father has behaved as the mother says he has behaved then it appears to me that the benefits that come to the children from contact have been outweighed by the damage done to the children by the father's stalking and harassment of the mother. That behaviour has disturbed the children directly from what they have experienced of it. This is clear from the interviews with the children. It has also reduced the mother to a state of chronic anxiety and thus harmed the children indirectly. If the father continues to so harass the mother, I would with regret be driven to the conclusion that contact with the father should cease until there was evidence that he had changed his ways."
"I am of opinion that the mother is a normal woman who has been driven to chronic anxiety by the behaviour of the father. I find nothing to support the father's claims that she is mentally ill, profoundly jealous of the father's relationship with the children or suffers from a long standing eating disorder. I think she is able to be responsible for all aspects of the children's upbringing and welfare. I think her present stance against contact with the father is a reaction to the father's harassment."
"If the Judge finds that the father has behaved in an unreasonable manner and has made excessive use of litigation, stalked the mother and harassed her in the way the mother claims, then the father's personality is appropriately described as fanatic and combative. If the father is unable to change his ways, then the only conclusion possible is that the father suffers from a personality disorder. If the father does what he does in order to cause suffering to the mother, then the only conclusion possible is that the father is a fanatic and combative psychopath. These are very serious diagnoses. I am always most reluctant to make a diagnosis of personality disorder or psychopathy and reserve judgment until driven to it by extreme and unchanging behaviour. It is, sadly, true that the father has so behaved that all the social workers, the psychologist and the psychotherapist, all have been driven to the same conclusion. Mr B puts it this way in his report of12 June 1997 - 'I had tried to get him to see that the only threat to this was his own behaviour and that if he did not moderate it then in the end the professional agencies would be defeated by this behaviour. Sadly this is now the outcome. My view based on my attempt to find a more co-operative, element in Mr Harris is that this does not exist in sufficient degree to withstand his need to control omnipotently anyone with whom he is in relationship and to become violently abusive when this fails. For this reason it would be extremely dangerous for Mr Harris to have control of his children because this relationship too would become dominated by these qualities making it impossible for him to show the forbearance, the patience, and the appropriate balance between limit setting and boundaries required in parenting children. So far he has been quite successful in getting the legal system to act for him, consuming the whole of his ex-wife's share of the equity in their earlier home in legal fees, a fact about which Mr Harris has expressed to me great satisfaction, I do hope that the high court hearing will be the setting in which Mr Harris's capacity to manipulate so many professionals, so many agencies, so many complaint authorities, and to create a process which is so punishing to his ex-wife and children, will finally be brought to a close, so that they can begin the task of rebuilding their lives.' I am of opinion that the above report, if accepted by the Judge, indicates that the father is suffering from a personality disorder at best or psychopathy at worst. At interview with the father, I made an appeal that came close to begging him to refrain from combat for the sake of his children. It appeared to fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless, he still has time to show that he is capable of changing his mind and I hope, even against my judgment, that he will yet do so. I think contact with the father to be so desirable that if he can change his ways, he should be given every opportunity to do so. I would be extremely reluctant to recommend a permanent cessation of contact even though I fear that this may be inevitable if the father proves to be incapable of change and continues to act in ways that damage the children and the mother. If the Judge decides that the father has behaved in the way the mother claims, my recommendations would be that there should be no direct contact with the father for six months and there should be injunctions against him stalking the mother. If those injunctions are obeyed and the father goes nowhere near the children, the mother, or anyone else forbidden by the Judge, then contact should be gradually restored with continuing checks on the father's behaviour. In simple terms, I would give him a chance to prove that we are all wrong and that he can control himself in order to see the children whom he loves."
"I have reached the conclusion that the father is obsessive, manipulative and quite unable to discern where the interests of the children lie. This litigation has become for him a way of life in which he can deploy his not inconsiderable intellectual and strategic skills to general view. .... Mr B, a psychotherapist attached to .... had various sessions with the father during the autumn 1996 / spring 1997, with a view to helping him to reach a better perception as to where the interests of the children lay and to defusing the level of parental discord. Mr B reports that: 'Each session began in a way which could accurately be described as [the father] haranguing me ¼ expressed repeatedly and forcibly so that it was extremely difficult for me to hold on to a thinking position.' Mr B discerned a profoundly controlling and abusive element in the father's personality and concluded that he had a need omnipotently to control anyone with whom he was in a relationship. Mr B feared that this trait of personality raised concerns about the father's relationship with the children in that it would be impossible for the father to show necessary forbearance and to strike the appropriate balance required in the parenting of children. It is of the essence of a balanced adult that he will be able to brook disagreement with his opinions and engage in amicable or at least civil discussion about differences in points of view; this trait is wholly lacking in the father. The father's response to Mr B was to call him "a tosser", and to complain about him to his professional association."
"The theft is another indication that the father is entirely devoid of moral scruple. He is a grossly inappropriate ambassador for "
"I have no doubt that the father rode roughshod over her during the marriage and emasculated her feelings of self-worth and emancipation. I believe that the mother is genuinely devoted to the children; but she finds herself in a situation of siege and harassment inside and outside these proceedings, to which she can discern no likely resolution. There is a body of evidence that she is a good mother - such is not in fact denied by the father, although he adds that as a person she is "plain nasty" - and that she loves them and tends to their daily needs in as appropriate a manner as the very difficult circumstances permit."
"suffered a great degree of possibly permanent emotional damage as a result of the conflict between the parents, engendered, so I find, very largely by the father. The court welfare officer told me that, during his life with the case in 1996, he had rarely seen so much emotional damage caused to children as a result of parental acrimony and felt that they suffered a most inappropriate division of loyalties."
"The father is seeking an order that the children should reside with him or, if not, that he should have unsupervised staying contact with them every other weekend and for half the school holidays, plus visiting contact on Wednesday afternoons. In his statement dated 8 th September 1997 he says as follows: 'If my contact is not restored I am taking the following action:- (a) Appealing both residence and contact. (b) Making every opportunity to see the children, post the November court case, every day, totally disregarding any orders to the contrary. All others break court orders, perhaps I should start if justice does not appear soon. (c) Staging a series of rooftop demonstrations on Social Services offices, Courts, drawing maximum publicity to this farce. (d) If sentenced to prison for waving to my children (I have seen prison before, it's a holiday camp, the only deterrent was not seeing the children) and going on hunger strike to draw maximum attention to the farce this case is, using the Scottish branch of Families Need Fathers, out of this court's jurisdiction to get media attention to what is going on in this closed court. (e) Selling my house, value about£80,000.00 , and moving into the children's street, preferably opposite, next door or behind. My children will see me and know I am around (houses worth about£60,000.00 in the mother's street). (f) Attempt to get letters, messages to them in whatever way I can. (g) Between all of this ensuring I go anywhere the children may go, i.e. shops, parks, swimming, just to see them. No attempt would be made to abduct them or bring any harm to them whatsoever. (h) Enlisting friends etc, to pass messages etc, however possible. (i) No attempt to appear on the grandparents contact would be made at all, or use this to maintain my contact. I would use this time for various rooftop protests and attention seeking to this farce.' A grossly unbalanced father, blind to the interests of his children and indeed prepared to pile further damage upon them in the service of his aggressive instincts, might harbour such plans. What is unique in my experience is their cold-blooded articulation in written evidence. The father denies, and I accept his denial, that these statements were written in a moment of anger. He says, truthfully I think, that he knew that the statement would inflame things. I believe that he means every word of that statement. He points out that the children may not be exposed to too much local publicity in that the Herald would be likely to report only that "a man" was on the roof of Plymouth Court. He says that, if the children did learn that he was on Scottish television, discussing these proceedings in chambers without fear of reprisal, at least they would realise that he had not given up on them. In this own words to me: "
'These sentences make my heart sink. They show that the father has learnt nothing. He would destroy the children by this behaviour; they will not survive.'
'I read this with the most appalling sense of continuing doom for the fate of the children. In July I came near to begging the father to behave reasonably. This shows that my earlier fear that it had fallen on deaf ears cannot be doubted. Anyone of average intelligence, and the father is intelligent, would realise that such behaviour would be a terrible burden on the children. I cannot think what possessed him to write it. When I look at the overall context of the case it confirms my gravest fears implicit in my worst diagnosis about his personality.'
"The father is unfit to care for the children. And it might help the children at last to develop a sense of security were I to record this: I cannot foresee any time when it would be appropriate for any of the children to live with the father."
"The emotional needs of these girls - Section 1(3)(b) - and the emotional harm - Section 1(3)(e) - which the father has caused them and would, as things stand, continue to cause them by cruelly and deliberately undermining their love for the mother, as well as infecting their relationship with [mother's partner] and engaging their support for his warfare contra mundum clearly outweigh my wish to respect their wishes and feelings. The effect on the mother (and thus indirectly the children) of face to face contact between the children and the father would also be, and in this case reasonably so, catastrophic. There will be no face to face contact between the father and the children until further order."
"Although it is, in essence, a very simple contact dispute which could perfectly well be dealt with in the Family Proceedings Court, it has been elevated to the High Court and a number of very experienced High Court judges have given it their anxious consideration, including Wilson J, Kirkwood J, Holman J and Bracewell J."
"It has been said more than once that this has been the most damaging battle waged between the parents seen by the courts for some years with direct and very serious effect upon all three children .... It is a very, very sad case and my heart goes out to these three children"
"If the Judge finds that the father has behaved as the mother says he has behaved then it appears to me that the benefits that come to the children from contact have been outweighed by the damage done to the children by the father's stalking and harassment of the mother. That behaviour has disturbed the children directly from what they have experienced of it. This is clear from the interviews with the children. It has also reduced the mother to a state of chronic anxiety and thus harmed the children indirectly. If the father continues to so harass the mother, I would with regret be driven to the conclusion that contact with the father should cease until there was evidence that he had changed his ways."
"I am of opinion that the mother is a normal woman who has been driven to chronic anxiety by the behaviour of the father. I find nothing to support the father's claims that she is mentally ill, profoundly jealous of the father's relationship with the children or suffers from a long standing eating disorder. I think she is able to be responsible for all aspects of the children's upbringing and welfare. I think her present stance against contact with the father is a reaction to the father's harassment."
"If the Judge finds that the father has behaved in an unreasonable manner and has made excessive use of litigation, stalked the mother and harassed her in the way the mother claims, then the father's personality is appropriately described as fanatic and combative. If the father is unable to change his ways, then the only conclusion possible is that the father suffers from a personality disorder. If the father does what he does in order to cause suffering to the mother, then the only conclusion possible is that the father is a fanatic and combative psychopath. These are very serious diagnoses. I am always most reluctant to make a diagnosis of personality disorder or psychopathy and reserve judgment until driven to it by extreme and unchanging behaviour. It is, sadly, true that the father has so behaved that all the social workers, the psychologist and the psychotherapist, all have been driven to the same conclusion. Mr B puts it this way in his report of12 June 1997 - 'I had tried to get him to see that the only threat to this was his own behaviour and that if he did not moderate it then in the end the professional agencies would be defeated by this behaviour. Sadly this is now the outcome. My view based on my attempt to find a more co-operative, element in Mr Harris is that this does not exist in sufficient degree to withstand his need to control omnipotently anyone with whom he is in relationship and to become violently abusive when this fails. For this reason it would be extremely dangerous for Mr Harris to have control of his children because this relationship too would become dominated by these qualities making it impossible for him to show the forbearance, the patience, and the appropriate balance between limit setting and boundaries required in parenting children. So far he has been quite successful in getting the legal system to act for him, consuming the whole of his ex-wife's share of the equity in their earlier home in legal fees, a fact about which Mr Harris has expressed to me great satisfaction, I do hope that the high court hearing will be the setting in which Mr Harris's capacity to manipulate so many professionals, so many agencies, so many complaint authorities, and to create a process which is so punishing to his ex-wife and children, will finally be brought to a close, so that they can begin the task of rebuilding their lives.' I am of opinion that the above report, if accepted by the Judge, indicates that the father is suffering from a personality disorder at best or psychopathy at worst. At interview with the father, I made an appeal that came close to begging him to refrain from combat for the sake of his children. It appeared to fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless, he still has time to show that he is capable of changing his mind and I hope, even against my judgment, that he will yet do so. I think contact with the father to be so desirable that if he can change his ways, he should be given every opportunity to do so. I would be extremely reluctant to recommend a permanent cessation of contact even though I fear that this may be inevitable if the father proves to be incapable of change and continues to act in ways that damage the children and the mother. If the Judge decides that the father has behaved in the way the mother claims, my recommendations would be that there should be no direct contact with the father for six months and there should be injunctions against him stalking the mother. If those injunctions are obeyed and the father goes nowhere near the children, the mother, or anyone else forbidden by the Judge, then contact should be gradually restored with continuing checks on the father's behaviour. In simple terms, I would give him a chance to prove that we are all wrong and that he can control himself in order to see the children whom he loves."
"I have reached the conclusion that the father is obsessive, manipulative and quite unable to discern where the interests of the children lie. This litigation has become for him a way of life in which he can deploy his not inconsiderable intellectual and strategic skills to general view. .... Mr B, a psychotherapist attached to .... had various sessions with the father during the autumn 1996 / spring 1997, with a view to helping him to reach a better perception as to where the interests of the children lay and to defusing the level of parental discord. Mr B reports that: 'Each session began in a way which could accurately be described as [the father] haranguing me ¼ expressed repeatedly and forcibly so that it was extremely difficult for me to hold on to a thinking position.' Mr B discerned a profoundly controlling and abusive element in the father's personality and concluded that he had a need omnipotently to control anyone with whom he was in a relationship. Mr B feared that this trait of personality raised concerns about the father's relationship with the children in that it would be impossible for the father to show necessary forbearance and to strike the appropriate balance required in the parenting of children. It is of the essence of a balanced adult that he will be able to brook disagreement with his opinions and engage in amicable or at least civil discussion about differences in points of view; this trait is wholly lacking in the father. The father's response to Mr B was to call him "a tosser", and to complain about him to his professional association."
"The theft is another indication that the father is entirely devoid of moral scruple. He is a grossly inappropriate ambassador for "
"I have no doubt that the father rode roughshod over her during the marriage and emasculated her feelings of self-worth and emancipation. I believe that the mother is genuinely devoted to the children; but she finds herself in a situation of siege and harassment inside and outside these proceedings, to which she can discern no likely resolution. There is a body of evidence that she is a good mother - such is not in fact denied by the father, although he adds that as a person she is "plain nasty" - and that she loves them and tends to their daily needs in as appropriate a manner as the very difficult circumstances permit."
"suffered a great degree of possibly permanent emotional damage as a result of the conflict between the parents, engendered, so I find, very largely by the father. The court welfare officer told me that, during his life with the case in 1996, he had rarely seen so much emotional damage caused to children as a result of parental acrimony and felt that they suffered a most inappropriate division of loyalties."
"The father is seeking an order that the children should reside with him or, if not, that he should have unsupervised staying contact with them every other weekend and for half the school holidays, plus visiting contact on Wednesday afternoons. In his statement dated 8 th September 1997 he says as follows: 'If my contact is not restored I am taking the following action:- (a) Appealing both residence and contact. (b) Making every opportunity to see the children, post the November court case, every day, totally disregarding any orders to the contrary. All others break court orders, perhaps I should start if justice does not appear soon. (c) Staging a series of rooftop demonstrations on Social Services offices, Courts, drawing maximum publicity to this farce. (d) If sentenced to prison for waving to my children (I have seen prison before, it's a holiday camp, the only deterrent was not seeing the children) and going on hunger strike to draw maximum attention to the farce this case is, using the Scottish branch of Families Need Fathers, out of this court's jurisdiction to get media attention to what is going on in this closed court. (e) Selling my house, value about£80,000.00 , and moving into the children's street, preferably opposite, next door or behind. My children will see me and know I am around (houses worth about£60,000.00 in the mother's street). (f) Attempt to get letters, messages to them in whatever way I can. (g) Between all of this ensuring I go anywhere the children may go, i.e. shops, parks, swimming, just to see them. No attempt would be made to abduct them or bring any harm to them whatsoever. (h) Enlisting friends etc, to pass messages etc, however possible. (i) No attempt to appear on the grandparents contact would be made at all, or use this to maintain my contact. I would use this time for various rooftop protests and attention seeking to this farce.' A grossly unbalanced father, blind to the interests of his children and indeed prepared to pile further damage upon them in the service of his aggressive instincts, might harbour such plans. What is unique in my experience is their cold-blooded articulation in written evidence. The father denies, and I accept his denial, that these statements were written in a moment of anger. He says, truthfully I think, that he knew that the statement would inflame things. I believe that he means every word of that statement. He points out that the children may not be exposed to too much local publicity in that the Herald would be likely to report only that "a man" was on the roof of Plymouth Court. He says that, if the children did learn that he was on Scottish television, discussing these proceedings in chambers without fear of reprisal, at least they would realise that he had not given up on them. In this own words to me: "
'These sentences make my heart sink. They show that the father has learnt nothing. He would destroy the children by this behaviour; they will not survive.'
'I read this with the most appalling sense of continuing doom for the fate of the children. In July I came near to begging the father to behave reasonably. This shows that my earlier fear that it had fallen on deaf ears cannot be doubted. Anyone of average intelligence, and the father is intelligent, would realise that such behaviour would be a terrible burden on the children. I cannot think what possessed him to write it. When I look at the overall context of the case it confirms my gravest fears implicit in my worst diagnosis about his personality.'
"The father is unfit to care for the children. And it might help the children at last to develop a sense of security were I to record this: I cannot foresee any time when it would be appropriate for any of the children to live with the father."
"The emotional needs of these girls - Section 1(3)(b) - and the emotional harm - Section 1(3)(e) - which the father has caused them and would, as things stand, continue to cause them by cruelly and deliberately undermining their love for the mother, as well as infecting their relationship with [mother's partner] and engaging their support for his warfare contra mundum clearly outweigh my wish to respect their wishes and feelings. The effect on the mother (and thus indirectly the children) of face to face contact between the children and the father would also be, and in this case reasonably so, catastrophic. There will be no face to face contact between the father and the children until further order."
"Mr Szulc talked to the children individually. All three said that they do not wish to see the father until, in their words, he starts to behave himself."
"The father claims that the children's change of view is due to the mother's influence. I have no doubt that the children are aware of the mother's strong feelings about the father. However, their consistent wishes until now have been for an early resumption of direct contact. The father must acknowledge the impact of his behaviour and not seek to shift the blame elsewhere."
"The purpose and intention of the order of Wilson J was to give to the mother and the children a breathing space, and they have not yet had that opportunity. Worse than that, the mother has felt impelled to move house to a different part of Plymouth, which in turn has had the effect that all three children have now just left their previous schools and next term must all settle in to new schools in a new area with which they are entirely unfamiliar. .... So, if Mr Harris wishes with any prospect of success to renew one day an application for leave to apply for contact, I very strongly urge him that he learns and does two things; first, that he completely desists from any further harassment of any kind of the mother or the children, or people connected with the mother, so as to be in breach of the injunction in its present form; and secondly, that he desists from making further applications for a significant period of time. .... I cannot say strongly or clearly enough to the father that if he wishes to restore direct contact with his children the means of doing so lie with him. If he can leave the mother and the children in peace, completely in peace, until Easter of next year, then I, for one, will at that stage conscientiously reconsider any application which he may make."
"The mother, the adult maternal relations and [her partner], and to some extent the children, have been so emotionally bruised by the litigation and its consequences over the past few years, that two elements of peace are necessary before direct contact can be reintroduced confidently:- (i) The first has already been achieved, namely, according to the father, he has not personally harassed the mother or any of her family relations or [her partner] since July 1998. He draws attention to Dr Boothroyd Brooks' requirement of 'six months', and states that he has already achieved that target of good behaviour. (ii) Secondly, the mother and the maternal family require some six months of freedom from the demands of litigation, in order to regain their emotional composure about the father, and begin to contemplate and plan the children seeing him again."
"Once the father has achieved the two 'good behaviour' goals of (a) not harassing the maternal family, and (b) not bringing litigation against the maternal family for some six months, then an agreed programme of direct contact could reasonably be introduced."
" The disadvantages of reintroducing direct contact are obvious. This mother and the adults in her family, as well her three daughters, have been subjected to a barrage of litigation and intrusive harassment from a disaffected Mr Mark Harris over several years. This war of attrition has not only taken its toll on [the mother] psychologically, but has also required the mother and the children to move to a new house and new schools so as to remove themselves from the 'hounding' of the father. Things had reached such a stage that there was apprehension in the family most of the time that Mr Mark Harris would suddenly appear threateningly yet again. The mother and her daughters have found some peace in their home .... and have made good enough adjustments to the new schools and their new environment. The children have a clear sense of their own identity with their absent father, and express this positively by saying that they wish that he would 'behave', for then they would be able to see him again. Thus, although it is the children's right to have contact with their father, that right is outweighed by the potential disadvantages which would flow if the father were to continue the same harassing and undermining behaviour which has been his hallmark over the past several years."
"The balance of advantage is in favour of contact resuming provided:- (1) There is continuing non-harassment of the mother and the maternal family. (2) There is a six months' clear gap since the last court case, in order to honestly say to the children that their father has 'behaved' for a half year. (3) 'Behaving' includes cessation of harassment generally, with no applications, no faxes, no court appearances, no infringement of injunctions, and no letters."
"The case has a long history, whose tragedy lies in the wretched consequences for the girls which result from the prolonged animosity between their parents. The history shows a heavy burden of responsibility that rests with the father for that, and shows that the absence of direct contact for the past two years, and the grave misgivings of the mother, Plymouth City Council and the Official Solicitor about a resumption of direct contact, all result very largely from the father's own conduct. .... The risks have been of their contentment, in the mother's home, being undermined and destroyed. It was, in the past, undoubtedly part of the father's design to have the girls live with him, by fair means or foul, mostly foul. With the termination of direct contact in February 1997, the father's unrestrained campaign to see the girls, and his frustration, indeed anger, at the denial of that, has led to an appalling catalogue of litigation, harassment and contempt."
"What are the risks of contact if it is not managed sensibly? The first is that the father will resume the deployment of his considerable, proved, abilities, to undermine the children's placement with their mother. He will do that by overt criticism and challenge, and he will do that by subtle subversion. Secondly, he will, by deliberate or thoughtless conduct, sustain and feed the tensions, the frisson, between himself and the mother and her family. That would leave the mother under enduring stress to the disadvantage of the girls. Thirdly, there is the risk that the father will not accept any pattern of contact which falls short of what he wants for himself. He will persist in pressurising for more and more contact. Fourthly, on a broader front, the father's persistent litigation, on all fronts, will continue to the detriment of the mother and therefore the children. Fifthly, there is an identified risk that the father will over-smother the children with love, and will infantilise them."
"I have the resistance of this battered, bruised, conscientious mother to the reintroduction of contact unless, and until, by psychiatric or psycho-therapeutic intervention, the father's personality has been changed. I have Dr Cameron's advice that favours a moratorium of six months in which the children and, he would hope, the mother, would learn that by the father's good behaviour, the father is now behaving himself. In that time Dr Cameron would hope that the father will work with his probation officer, or some such person, to enhance his understanding of the proper proportions of this family situation, and of how best he can help his daughters. I have the father's urgent desire to see his children. Then I have the children's wish to see their father, when he behaves and the court decides."
"The father was quite right to recognize, in his oral evidence, that if any direct contact is ordered, it is up to him to make a success of it. He was right to recognize that if he does not, if the risks, that had been foreshadowed and that the mother so much fears, come about, then direct contact will end and will not be renewed for a long time into the indefinite future, if ever."
"I make the decision I do in the teeth of advice from the City Council, from the Official Solicitor, from Dr. Cameron and from the mother. I do it because, for the reasons I have given, I think it worth trying to give benefit to the children by moving the case forward at this stage when there are some propitious signs."
"The father would be wise to regard this six-month period, not just as an interim provision, but as a probationary one. He would be wise to accept the nature and extent of contact that I order, even though it is far less than he would like, and concentrate on making a success of it. Making a success of it means not just insuring that the children have a happy time, but in a much wider sense, behaving with parental responsibility. That includes, respecting the children's mother and her own right to lead her life as she wishes; being supportive of her in the excellent care she gives the children; and seeing to it that the children know that he respects and supports that. Parental responsibility includes not questioning the children or putting pressure on them, or making them feel uncomfortable. The father would be wise not just to desist from litigation, as he must, but to stop bombarding people with confrontational letters. If he needs to write to the Official Solicitor or speak to his representative, or to the social workers or anyone else, he must do so courteously and with restraint. The father would be wise to perceive that the tide is on the turn. He should swim with it rather than against it as he has done in recent years. The father is easily intelligent enough to manage this contact, and himself, and his parental responsibility well. If he does so, he will certainly find that he has the full support of the court in promoting his contact with his children."
"In June 1999, Dr Cameron told me that the father's conduct, in May, of trying to accost [his daughter] on her way to school, set back [her] willingness to join in contact by many months. The mother told me in this hearing that she sees that incident as a turning point for [her daughter]. I have to accept that. .... I regret that the father sees that as merely a small mistake he made, and as now something consigned to the past. I regret that his lack of insight into his children's needs blinds him to the profound effect on [her] of that incident. It was not, to her, a small mistake now consigned to the past. But for that incident [she] may well have come round to joining in contact. She was, I was told, on the point of doing so. A further consequence of the incident is that all three children have felt under continued pressure in respect of [her] absence."
"Mr Mark Harris has received advice, on many occasions, to desist from 'pressurizing' the children and their maternal home. If he were able to follow this advice then the present visiting contact would have a chance to develop. Instead, his persistently intruding on the children's lives with their mother, has the effect of trampling on the good contact arrangements just as they are beginning. .... Mr Mark Harris does appear to be the architect of his own contact difficulties with his children. .... If, even at this stage, Mr Mark Harris were able to stop pressurizing his children (by questioning them unwisely on contact occasions) and give up all pressurizing and intrusion into the lives of the mother and the three girls, then there is a chance that the interim contact, just started, will flourish and develop into ordinary relaxed contact arrangements over the course of the coming year. In contrast, should the father's 'pressurizing' and invasion of the children's geographical space or court action continue, then it is highly probable that even the current contact will fail."
"Whilst the father has honoured a good deal of that, he has not, as I have indicated, honoured it all. I am surprised that those passages are not ingrained on the father's heart; they certainly should be. He must realise that this case is all about trust. .... So it is up to him. There must be no breaches of injunctions. He must read and re-read the injunctions so that he is quite clear what they say. There must be no question of any false promises. There must be no questioning of the children. There must be strict adherence to the arrangements. There must be avoidance of anything that may suggest to the mother that he is undermining her, or in any sense having a go at her. The father may think that imposes a heavy burden upon him. He must also reflect upon how it is that we have arrived at where we are today."
"The father must accept that Dr Cameron has vast experience with these sort of problems, and a professional life-time of experience of understanding children and what makes them tick. The father would also do well to understand that this court has far more experience of these sort of problems than he, the father, has. Both Dr Cameron and the court want [her] to have easy and rewarding contact with him. He should be in no doubt about that. The question, looking at the rest of [her] minority, is how to achieve it. The answer lies in patience; a quality that does not come naturally to the father, but he must learn it. The father will be disappointed by my decision not to accede to his suggestion of contriving a meeting as he has asked. The father should not dwell on the past, save to reflect that he is ultimately the author of all these difficulties. He should reflect and be grateful that the court is doing its best to establish contact between himself and his daughters after all this time, and that there is every sign that, with [the younger girls], it has got off to a good start. With impeccable behaviour by the father, with time and with patience, there is a very good chance of his ultimately attaining normal contact. Indeed, with those ingredients there is offered the best, and I fancy the only chance of his attaining good, normal contact."
"Although the father has allowed time to go by, and has shown some patience as he waits for [the eldest girl], it is apparent that he has not shown 'impeccable behaviour', for he cannot resist the temptation to intrude himself on the lives of his three daughters and their mother, whenever personal whim or chance gives him an opportunity to do so. He is not able to leave it alone, and walk away."
"The inescapable fact is that the seven supervised direct contact visits, the 'probationary provision', have fallen short of being satisfactory for two reasons:- Internal reasons within the contact visits themselves. This has already been alluded to. While the physical care including feeding and playing has been satisfactory, the questioning and emotional pressurizing has been burdensome for his two younger daughters. External to contact factors, namely the intrusive pressurizing presence of the father in the daily lives of the maternal family and the three girls, has led to an unfortunate awareness that he is continuing to emotionally pressurize exactly as he did in the past."
"Taking all these factors into account, probably the least detrimental way forward would be for the once-monthly, six-hourly, supervised day contacts to continue, for a further probationary period. That recommendation is advanced tentatively."
"The basis for my recommendation that the present day-visiting contact arrangements should continue, on a second 'probationary provision', is that (a) the gain for the children from direct contact with the father, has not been entirely nullified by his emotionally pressurizing them, and (b) the father may be able to work constructively, for his daughters' benefit, with a further 'probationary provision, whereas a different recommendation would be more likely to precipitate in the father yet another public outburst which would embarrass and dismay his children even more. The diagnosis, in this family dispute, lies at the door of the non-custodial father. He loves his children dearly in his own way, but he is quite unable to restrain himself from emotionally pressurizing them just as he does with professionals. He runs the risk of adversely affecting their current psychological well-being. Furthermore, if his pressurizing questioning of [the younger girls] continues, he runs the risk that they too will choose to have no further direct contact with him as thy grow up. The father cannot accept that he has any responsibility for the present contact difficulties. He stresses his parental rights."
"At one level, the seven periods of contact have gone well for [the younger girls]. The father is capable of providing, and has provided, material care and an entertaining day. On another level, an emotional level, things are less happy. .... I have been assisted today by another report from Dr Hamish Cameron which, however, the father more or less rejects as unbalanced. I am sorry he does so. It contains wise words, and offers to him further advice as to how to move forward. I do not think that Mr Harris has fully absorbed the desire of the court to achieve, over time, good contact that is beneficial to the girls, including, I would hope, staying contact between father and all three daughters. The .... court and, I am sure, Dr Cameron, wishes to see beneficial contact arrived at in due course. But the father does not take, perhaps cannot take, a contextual view. He is unable to see how deeply his past conduct has marked the mother and the children. The children themselves have varying degrees of direct memory of the past, but all are aware at their respective levels of understanding of the distress the father has, by his conduct, engendered. I have said before that the girls each want to trust their father, and it is up to him to earn their trust."
"He wants a decisive move to full contact now, despite being told that such an outcome is a long term ambition of Dr Cameron and the court. This lack of insight, again, blinds him to the circumstance that the dreadful past history is all part of this family's life story. To him the past is a catalogue of battles and confrontations, won or lost, and put behind him. It is not thus for the children, or the family in whose bosom they live. The father does not perceive that trust in him by the children and their mother has to be won. It will not be won by three months, or so, of better behaviour, welcome though that is. That is why, in March, I talked of full contact being a long, long way ahead. Certainly not this year, probably not next. Yet, by his ambitions, the father has exposed the children, all of them directly or indirectly, to further pressure."
"What can the father do to improve matters? It is actually simple to state: concentrate on today and let tomorrow take care of itself. Let each period of contact be a happy, fun, uncomplicated occasion. Have no hidden agendas .... Let there be no pressure of any kind on the children. The court is well aware that the father wants staying contact. The father might well be wise to leave it to Dr Cameron and the court to take the initiative when the time is right. Meanwhile, let the father and [the younger girls] enjoy what they have. What else should the father try to do? He really needs to declare a lasting truce in the battle with the mother and her family. The battle is pointless and it is destructive. The father says: "
"Just walk away from it.""
"The Court-ordered review, of the past six months direct contact, was planned with the hope that by now fine-tuning of arrangements would allow a gradual increase in the children's contact with their father. How has contact faired over the past six months? The answer must be that, it has only been good in parts. The practical arrangements, timekeeping, and material care of the children during contact, have been satisfactory; their emotional welfare has not. They have been disadvantaged by threatening emotional pressure from their father, both during the contact itself, and indirectly by his actions between contact visits. That is to say, over the last six months the father's contact has done ' good ' and ' harm ' to the children."
" Materially , the father looks after [the younger girls] satisfactorily, and provides them with good enough physical care. Emotionally , the father continues to pressurize [them], exactly as he did before. Their present unease with their father resonates with their awareness of his pressurizing behaviour towards them in the past. .... The author, of the tension and difficulties surrounding contact, is the father and the father alone. The Court and the professionals are doing all they can to promote beneficial contact between Mr Mark Harris and his children. But the frequency of his chasing side-issues, making applications to Court, and complaining about professionals, makes it seem that he has 'lost the plot'. Instead of welcoming the mood of pervasive goodwill towards improving contact, Mr Mark Harris regresses into bellicosity and tilts at imaginary foes."
"This is an option which appeals, for the father has betrayed the love and trust of [the younger girls]. He has programmed their statements, and has threatened them, with the result that both girls have experienced emotional worries and upset. By continuing ' in-part emotionally abusive ' unsupervised direct contact, are [their] innocent minds .... being put at risk? [Events] point to the children being conditioned towards nervousness by his emotional pressurizing. Their minds remain messed up about contact even when they are away from him, and their father uses enticing words to get them back. Their loyalty to their father continues; their trust in him has gone. Restarting contact was an act of confidence in the father, and the children have gained some benefit from actually being with him at his home. There would have to be strong grounds for stopping direct contact now, knowing that it would be unlikely to resume in the foreseeable future. Although the girls would be relieved from the direct contact emotional pressurizing, the father's ' pressurizing at a distance ', as with [the eldest], would continue. The cautious view of this report, looking at the girls' welfare living in Plymouth with their father nearby, is that continuation of some direct contact is likely to be less detrimental than stopping it entirely."
"How can we? .... This father is psychologically abusing his daughters, and he cannot help himself. .... Whilst the view of this report is that the father's contact with [the younger girls] does disturb the family unit, in a way which is detrimental to all three children's welfare, nevertheless that acknowledged harm seems just outweighed by the benefit from knowing their father as he actually is. Supporting direct contact, while knowing that emotional pressurizing is going on, is close to condoning the father's psychological maltreatment of [the younger girls]. The hope is that slowly improving contact will persuade the father to abandon his 'driven' campaign against his daughters and the mother's family. This father appears to be 'in denial', for he claims not to be able to see that his emotional pressurizing is abusive and is harming the psychological well-being of his daughters. .... a halving of direct contact visits is recommended, to reduce the psychological harm being caused. Quantity less; quality the same."
"If these girls were having day visits to a male friend of the family, or a distant uncle, and he was pressurizing their minds as Mr Harris does, the contact would be stopped forthwith. Whilst Mr Harris does have times during the contact when he is not directly pressurizing the girls or programming them what to say, their awareness that he will return to the dreaded topic lurks at the back of their minds most of the time. As the father seems unable to keep under control his compulsion to question and pressurize, the only practicable remedy is to reduce the frequency of direct contact visits."
"The likelihood of this further attempt succeeding, in improving direct contact for the girls is small. However, having started this 'good thing' of direct contact, every possible avenue should be tried before the process is given up. The girls enjoy contact with their father; they just want his psychological abuse to stop."
"The father has made a comfortable family home for himself, and he has a suitable setting for his daughters' visits. He provides meals for them and ensures their physical needs are met. He is in employment as a driving instructor and is financially secure. Behind that conventional respectability, Mr Mark Harris cares little for others, and seems undismayed that his pressure has disturbed the tranquillity of his daughters' home. .... Mr Mark Harris remains callous and disbelieving about the emotional misery in his daughters, and he cannot see it is he who causes their pain. .... Mr Mark Harris works at two levels. The face he presents to the new outside world is one of reasonableness, but behind that he exerts threatening oppressive emotional power over those who stand in his way. The above paragraphs illustrate how Mr Mark Harris' capability to be responsible for the emotional welfare of his three daughters' is impaired, and, in my professional opinion, he is disqualified from being other than a direct contact visiting parent, at infrequent intervals. Because Mr Mark Harris is (knowingly or unknowingly) so unaware of his emotionally harmful impact on his daughters, [the younger girls' direct contact with him does put them at psychological risk."
"Mr Harris conducts an entirely false debate, by suggesting he is arguing against people who want to restrict his daughters' contact with him. But the opposite is true. The Courts, the professionals, his ex-wife and his daughters, all want to achieve good contact, calm and happy for all. A direct contact balance needs to be struck, so that the children have:- + Sufficient direct contact to meet their identity needs, and know their father as he really is, but + Not too much direct contact, which could knowingly expose them to the harm of longer and greater intensity of emotional pressurizing by their father."
"This case has been ongoing for many years, and it is quite apparent that the father issues applications like confetti. They have inundated the court since the hearing before Mr Justice Kirkwood. It is, in my judgment, a tragedy that has occurred in this case. Mr Justice Kirkwood, who has been involved in this case between March 1999 and October 1999, gave very careful, comprehensive and sensitive judgments, endeavouring to progress contact between the father and the children. In those judgments he gave very wise words of advice to Mr Harris about his conduct, behaviour and attitude, recommending that he should forget about any agendas, any grievances and acrimony, but should endeavour to see contact as pleasurable for the children, treat each opportunity for contact as being for the welfare of the children, to be enjoyed and for their benefit, and not to rake over grievances, actual or perceived. In my judgment, Mr Harris has demonstrated, partly by the quantity of applications he has made, partly by his attitude in these proceedings and the way in which he has given evidence and cross-examined the mother, that he has learned nothing from the wise words of Mr Justice Kirkwood. That is a great sadness because both Dr Cameron and Mr Justice Kirkwood have done everything possible to progress contact in this case, but their efforts, in my judgment, have been met with the intransigence and the inability of Mr Harris to understand just how his behaviour and attitude is preventing that contact from being for the welfare of the children."
"Father, in evidence-in-chief, sought to present himself as being eminently reasonable, contained, sensible and measured. But it was when he participated in the cross-examination of various witnesses that he exhibited his true colours. I have no hesitation at all in concluding on this issue of credibility, it is not, in these proceedings, the mother who has set the children against the father, but it is the father who does not have a good word to say about the mother, and who has, in fact, exerted subtle and manipulative pressure on these children, which sadly they find very difficult to bear."
"I have no doubt at all that by reason of the contact there has been a significant deterioration in the emotional welfare of these children, and I agree with the opinion of Dr Cameron that it is, principally, by reason of father's efforts to entice [the eldest] to contact that there is, growing, a rift between the three sisters which has affected all three children in different ways. To alienate children in such circumstances is a matter of serious concern."
"I find in this case the court has a very difficult balancing exercise to perform, applying the welfare check-list as I do. On the one side there is the enjoyment of the children of the contact with the father, and their pleasure in the activities in which they participate. That is very important in the light of a long period of time when there was no direct contact with the father, and it is a matter which weighs heavily in the balance that these children plainly enjoy many aspects of seeing their father, spending time with him, and being able to show affection for him. But there is a much more difficult aspect which has to be weighed in the balance. That is the pressure which I have no doubt these children are under from the father, and the affect which it is having on their emotional welfare. I do not consider that the father applies pressure wittingly. He does not do it consciously in order to discomfort the children, but, unfortunately, he has a tendency to view these applications as part of a campaign in an ongoing battle field. He has a complete absence of trust in relation to the mother, and he is blind to the damage which he is occasioning these children. He has, I find, little or no respect for boundaries, and he will go to any lengths to pursue and try to achieve his object, as demonstrated by the flurry of applications which mark the background to this case. What is the court to do? I do not find that this is a case either of so called parental alienation or of any implacable hostility on the part of mother. I find that although mother is less than enthusiastic about contact, she is, nevertheless, to be congratulated on observing court orders against her better judgment. I do not find that she has in any way sought to undermine the contact which has taken place. This is a case in which it would be tempting to say that this contact is causing such difficulties for the welfare of these children that direct contact should cease. .... There is a detrimental outcome if the children see their father, because I have every confidence that the pressure will continue, particularly if [the eldest], as seems likely, continues to refuse to attend. If they do not see their father, the children are being deprived of their knowledge of him, the expression of their love for him, and their ability to partake of rewarding experiences on contact visits. To prevent them seeing their father is to take away a significant part of their life. But, on the other hand, there is the need to protect the children from emotional harm. I have concluded that the only way forward, which is for the welfare of these children, is, despite the contentions of the mother, to continue direct contact to the father but to reduce the number of occasions per annum. It is, in my judgment, a tragedy that this is necessary, but the father has only himself to blame for having brought this sad situation about."
"I have no doubt that there needs to be a period of calm for these children, without the shadow of continued and obsessive litigation. I have no doubt at all that further litigation is not only disturbing for the mother, but inevitably is going to affect her in relation to looking after the children. The constant threat of coming to court is destabilising, and is in itself, in my judgment, part of the pressure which the father seeks to exert on the children. I am satisfied that there must be a new order under section 91(14) in order to protect the children from inappropriate litigation."
"I take a very serious view indeed of these deliberate and repeated breaches, designed, so I find to destabilize the mother and perpetrated with no insight whatever into the damaging effects also upon the children."
"using, communicating or dealing in any way with the contents of the personal file belonging to Miss Wood, Counsel for the Official Solicitor, .... removed by him from Court on 3 rd November 1997 save that:- (a) he be at liberty to communicate the same to a solicitor or barrister from whom he may seek advice and; (b) he be at liberty to use the same at any further hearing in these proceedings unless the court conducting the same should rule otherwise."
"Without prejudice to the provisions ofSection 12(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 (as amended by paragraph 14 of Schedule 13 to theChildren Act 1989 ) IT IS ORDERED THAT and an injunction is hereby granted restraining until further order in the meantime any person (whether by himself or by his servants or agents or otherwise howsoever or in the case of a company whether by its directors or officers servants or agents or otherwise howsoever) from: (1) publishing in any newspaper or broadcasting in any sound or television broadcast or by means of any cable or satellite programme service or public computer network: (a) the name or address of (i) the above mentioned minors being the children whose names and address are set out in the First Schedule hereto (hereinafter referred to as "the children") or (ii) any school or other institution or establishment in or at which the children are being educated or educated hereinafter referred to as an "establishment") or (iii) the above-mentioned Applicant and Respondents being the persons whose names and addresses are set out in the Second Schedule hereto or (iv) [mother's partner] whose name and address is set out in the Third Schedule attached hereto; (b) any picture being or including a picture of either (i) any or all of the children (ii) the Applicant (iii) the First, Third and Fourth Respondents; (c) any other matter IN EACH CASEin a manner calculated to lead to the identification; (i) in the case of the children of the children as being the subject of proceedings before the court; (ii) in the case of any establishment of such establishment as being an establishment in or at which the children .... are being educated or treated; (iii) in the case of each Mark Harris and [the mother] as being the parents of the children ("the parents"); (iv) in the case of each of .... as being the paternal grandparents of the children ("the paternal grandparents") (2) soliciting any information relating to the children; (a) from the children; (b) from (i) the staff or (ii) the pupils of any establishment; (c) from the parents or either of them; (d) from the paternal grandparents or either of them. (3) notwithstanding the provisions of Section 12(2) of the said Act but without prejudice to paragraph 2 below including in any publication of the text or a summary of the whole or any part of this Order any of the matters referred to in paragraph 1(1)(a); PROVIDED THAT nothing in this order shall of itself prevent any person: (i) publishing any particulars of or information relating to any part of the proceedings before any Court other than a Court sitting in private (ii) publishing any information or picture already lawfully in the public domain (iii) enquiring of another person as to whether that person is such a person as is referred to in paragraph l(2) above (iv) seeking or receiving information from any person who has previously approached the person seeking or receiving information with the purpose of volunteering information (v) soliciting information relating to the child in the course of or for the purpose of the exercise by the person soliciting such information of any duty or function authorised by statute or by any court of competent jurisdiction."
"(a) taking or permitting any step likely to expose the [mother and children] to any form of publicity arising from the proceedings herein (b) Discussing or otherwise communicating any matter relating to the family circumstances (including any proceedings before any court) of the [mother and children] with any organ of the media, whether a newspaper, periodical, sound, television, satellite or cable broadcasting company, or public computer network or any other person, save that he be at liberty to discuss or otherwise communicate the same with:- (i) any legal advisor whom he may consult or instruct; (ii) representatives of the Official Solicitor; (iii) the legal representatives of the [mother]; (iv) representatives of the [local authority]; (v) the legal representatives of, or the [paternal grandmother]; (vi) the legal representatives of, or the [paternal grandfather]; (vii) any other person the Court may permit."
"Although I was totally unaware of them at the time of the hearing on16 March 1998 , eight of those breaches had occurred before that hearing, and the next breach was destined to occur some four days later on 20 March."
"(a) Entering or attempting to enter on foot or by car or otherwise at any time whatsoever for whatever purpose the area outlined in red on the map annexed hereto. (b) Entering or attempting to enter on foot or by car or otherwise between 8.15 a.m. and 9.15 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. the children's route to and from [school] until the end of the current school term (18 July 1998 ). (c) Entering or attempting to enter on foot or by car or otherwise [two named roads in Plymouth]. (d) Harassing or pestering [the mother]. (e) Deliberately following [the mother] or [the children] (the children) or any of them by car, on foot or otherwise. (f) Loitering outside any school attended by any of the children. (g) Entering any school premises of which any of the children is a pupil or attending any other event organised by such a said school unless: (i) None of the children is present there and (ii) he shall have arranged in writing and in advance with an officer of the School so to do. (h) Having or seeking any contact or communication with any of the children, other than as provided for in the order of Mr. Justice Wilson on7 November 1997 or any subsequent order of the court. (i) Having or seeking any contact or communication with [the mother] save through her solicitors."
"Mr Harris accepts that he has been in breach of the injunction. That acceptance is coupled with a now familiar sounding apology and reassurance as to future conduct."
"I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of alleged breaches have been proved to the hilt. The general assertion that Mr Harris has reverted to type since his release has been proved beyond reasonable doubt. There have been numerous instances of Mr Harris quite deliberately ensuring that he encountered Mrs Harris and the children, normally when both were in their respective vehicles and Mrs Harris was on her way to or from the children's school. His behaviour on these occasions consisted of hooting his horn, flashing his lights and waving, thereby ensuring that his presence was both obvious and upsetting to Mrs Harris and, as importantly, to the children. Mrs Harris moved addresses on about the 20 th March; her current address is about five miles away from Mr Harris's home. The children continue to attend the same school. Despite the distance Mr Harris has continued his campaign."
"Following his release he reverted immediately to type, again becoming defiant, and there was plenty of evidence in the papers before me of that defiance."
"(i) by adding at the beginning of sub-paragraph (a) the words "save as permitted by (g) below" and (ii) by substituting for paragraph (g) (ii) the words "he is keeping an appointment to meet an officer of the school which has been confirmed to him in advance in writing by the school (a copy of such confirmation to be sent by the school to the children's social worker) provided that there shall be no more than two such appointments at each of the two schools in each school term."
"[T]he stupidity of his behaviour over the last 12 – 18 months in particular has caused, and has rightly caused, an inability for him to have a relationship with those three children. He has cast around over the last year, blaming everybody but himself, and the time has come for Mr H to examine himself and wonder whether, however much others may be to blame, it is not time he looked at himself and saw where he was so patently to blame himself."
"The existence of the injunction is a significant part of the endeavour of the court to try to establish confidence and trust in the case. I do not, for my part, think it likely that it will be necessary or wise for the injunction to continue in its full rigour indefinitely, but I do not propose to alter it on this occasion."
"If he sets foot across the new exclusion zone, or if he takes the opportunity to drive down [X] Road or down [Y] Road indulging in the antics in which he has indulged in the past, he will not only be in breach of the injunction not to molest them, but he will find that the exclusion zone is at a stroke extended back to the place where it is now, and he will have no possibility of getting it changed again for a very considerable period, for the simple reason that he will not be able to be trusted. So if he wants to run his business within the [Z] area, he is being given the opportunity to do so. But he is in effect on probation and if he does not behave, and if he causes any trouble which is found to be trouble by the judge in the future, whether it be between now and 31 st March or between the 31 st March and any other time in the future, he will suffer very considerably because he will lose the depleted exclusion zone that he has sought at the moment."
"Attached is a cheque for£900 , yours if [the eldest girl] comes on Wednesday, and continues to come. It's postdated, so don't try & cash it before hand."
"Given the above points and the fact that the area you have specified is not used by DSA examiners I fail to see how [Mr Harris's] claims, outlined in your letter can be upheld."
"MARK HARRIS Equal Parenting Party."
"A PLYMPTON man is to organise a protest across the West Country and the Midlands after setting up a campaign to help fathers get more access to their children. Mark Harris, 41, .... set up the Dads Against Discrimination pressure group in April this year in order to support fathers who find themselves denied access to their children after separating from or divorcing their partners. .... It was Mr Harris' personal experiences that inspired him to establish the group. He has been in a wrangle with his ex-wife for six years and after two court hearings he has just six days access to his children a year - just one day each holiday and half term. 'The problem is as soon as the father starts complaining the courts seem to have only one solution - get rid of him.' Mr Harris, who has represented himself for the last four years after initially spending£9,000 on legal fees, also believes the Children's Act, set up in 1989 and which was supposed to help fathers in this position, is often ignored."
"Father's Day Sunday 18 th June How many children will see their father this Sunday? 100,000 children lose contact with one parent every year + Parents should be treated equally after divorce or separation for the sake of their children. + Both Parents should have an equal say in the parenting of their children. Children must not be used as weapons by the resident parent - male or female - against a former partner."
"'There are thousands of children who are not getting contact with their children,' said DADS founder Mark Harris 41, from Plymouth. 'Or it is increasingly normal to get a contact order for your children for just six or twelve days a year. It is a grave injustice. Mr Harris added: 'Children should be able to see both their parents unless there is a serious reason why not. 'There are 150,000 children effectively losing a parent through the courts and that is more than lost their father during the Second World War.' Mr Harris founded DADS in April and the group now has grown to around 60 members. He currently sees his three children for six days a year and has spent£9,000 on legal fees. Mr Harris said he had been surprised by the strength of support for his cause and was hoping that the demonstrations would persuade judges to rethink their position on the issue. 'Children want both parents - preferably in the same home - but if they are not they need to see both parents,' he explained. 'I am getting a lot of phone calls and it is the same story - fathers cannot get justice. Mr Harris went on: 'At the moment, if you want to see your children there have to be compelling reasons to let you and that is all the wrong way round.' Anyone affected by this issue, their family or friends, are invited to attend the protest."
"Well done [name], great work & great report! Love Daddy XXX"
"Well done [name], Love from Daddy, XXXXXX."
"[She] appeared uncomfortable and anxious about the matter and said that she did not wish to have them. I have therefore made the decision that in [her] best interests ...., it will not be possible to pass on any further notes. Should you wish to make contact with [her] you will need to do so through the channels already available to you."
"A PLYMPTON man behind a campaign to help fathers get more access to their children organised a demonstration outside the house of Britain's top family judge. Mark Harris, 41, .... set up Dads Against Discrimination in April to help fathers who are denied access to their children after separating from or divorcing their partners .... Mr Harris hopes the action will persuade Dame Butler-Sloss to implement an order of shared residency as introduced by the Children's Act in 1989. The rule works on the basis that the children of separated parents should be able to spend as much time as possible with both after a relationship breakdown. Mr Harris believes that if Dame Butler-Sloss implements the ruling, her influence will force lesser courts to follow suit. 'She ignored our court protests in April, May and June, we are hoping now it has been a bit closer to home she'll pay it more attention. If she doesn't we'll come back,' said Mr Harris. Mr Harris started the group as a result of his own experiences. He has been in a wrangle with his ex-wife for six years and after two court hearings and an overall cost of£300,000 has just six days a year access to his children."
"Mark is a devoted dad. It took 111 court appearances for him to get unsupervised access to his children six times a year. The cost to the taxpayer of this fiasco has topped£300,000 . Given that he eventually got his access there can hardly have been a cogent reason why the case went on for so long. No doubt the court process which, through it's normal cycle of delay and incompetence, and its tendency to aids and abet the parent who lives with the children, had a significant part to play in the drain on public funds."
" Dad's against discrimination . I set this up after the Bracewell farce. We held demo's outside Court's in April, May & June. These fell on deaf ears. In July we moved these protests to judges homes, where Butler-Sloss is a popular target because of her position as President of the Family division. In August, we spread this to a second prominent judge, James Wigmore. I attach last week's coverage. During the autumn, we are targeting other Judges, and certain professional connected with report writing. Yourself, and the following members of your staff are deemed to be writing unfair, unbalanced reports, always supporting the mothers wishes to end or minimise contact, ignore the mothers conduct no matter what & only listen to children's views if they are negative to the father; The staff members are: Mr S Szulc (my nomination) [three other names] The same complaints are voiced time & again; endless litigation, aggressive Barristers, child psychiatrists who only interview children in the close proximity of hostile mothers, all funded by a bottomless purse. Indeed, whatever the 'status quo' is, (i.e. No contact, minimal contact) is litigated endlessly, when perhaps "progression" in a case would actually assist. Our protests are totally lawful, we advocate strict compliance with law, we only exercise our right to public demonstration. I only brought Dad's into being SOLELY because of the inability to progress my case in any way. Indeed, if my case was to progress, and by progress I mean move towards the frequent contact your predecessor supported if the mother was not harassed (compelling evidence of her false claims emerged in 1998) & as the two past Court Welfare Officers, I for one would end my involvement, which would inevitably see it's demise."
"If I was to progress, I would use the utmost of influence to ensure no protests were directed at the residential area's of you & your staff, as I said, I would personally abstain from any involvement too."
"I deprecate your linkage of the points you raise with the prospect that you will target demonstrations against members of my staff. I, and they, shall continue to do our duty to act in what we see as the best interests of the children we represent."
"This regrettable action has been taken in the hope that your actions of dishonesty, neglect & greed can be elevated away from the corrupt family court's, where you are fully aware your actions in the past will be ignored, and into proper Court's, where perhaps some action will take place. .... I am on my way to Richmond Police station to give myself up. I dare say you have masonic links with the higher ranks of the Metropolitain Police, but I do understand that even the freemasons will not accept Criminal behaviour from within it's own ranks. I have the relevant documentation with me to back up what I have said about the Probation officer & Psychotherapist. I hope they chose to listen. Do not think for one moment I will accept No Contact. You would be far better employed trying to progress contact for your fat fees."
"You will inevitably get to hear of the action I took regarding Dr Cameron & his abuse of me & my children. I bitterly regret what I did, but if the only way his abuse of me, the children & the truth in regard to his pivotal report of September 99 can possibly be dealt with, then the course I took has some justification. I hope Dr Cameron AT LEAST withdraws that report ...., I would prefer it [sic] he withdrew himself from the case entirely. I believe the Police may well now have to look at what he did."
"FAMILY COURT JUDGES ARE ABUSING MY THREE CHILDREN I am Mark Harris, divorced father of three fine daughters, aged 9, 11, 13. Since my marriage breakdown in 1993, I've been to court 111 times over access difficulties .... The problem lies in the money corrupt & dishonest Barristers, Solicitors and child experts make out of the ongoing litigation .... Overleaf, I detail the home addresses of the Judges, and others who allow this abuse to continue. You should know who they are ...."
"The Marsh Green vigil organiser Mark Harris, of Plymouth, who has endured a long legal battle for access to his children, was at one stage jailed for waving at his children as they went to school."
"SORT OUT THE HARRIS CHILDREN CASE NOW!"
"Protest organiser Mark Harris said: 'All we are appealing for is equal treatment in the family courts. We want to tell Tony Blair to take a grip of his courts system and get this problem sorted out. 'We want the courts to exercise shared residence legislation for fathers to see their children because at the moment none of the fathers we know has that privilege. 'It seems as though some judges are still stuck in the 1950s where the father must be driven out of the family if they break up.'"
"'This is someone who has attached himself to the group. We would never condone something like this that disrupts the public or could jeopardise public safety. 'I don't know who it is. Feelings are running high. Divorced fathers feel they are suffering a grave injustice at the hands of the legal system that denies them their basic right to see their children. It is someone who has gone beyond the limit. But if you push people too hard they can lose their reason. 'If you take a man's responsibility away from him - ie, his children - then he probably starts behaving irresponsibly.'"
"Why do you treat all non resident fathers so unjustly? Would you (or Mr Szulc) care to explain your behaviour when the protesters come to [the places where you live]? I hope you do not resist removal from this case."
"However Mark Harris, who heads Dads Against Discrimination, which has over 200 members in the West Country, today said he believed the same person could be behind both incidents. 'If it has anything to do with one of our members or supporters, we would appeal to them to give up this type of action and join in our legitimate peaceful, demonstration,' said the 41-year-old. 'We are trying to highlight the misjustices and injustices fathers face in family courts. 'These devices are not the way forward. The general public are not our enemy. 'Legitimate protest is one thing but putting the public in danger is out of order. 'I fully understand the frustration of the person concerned - but I would appeal to them to stop. I believe it could be someone who has come to one of our meetings and become upset at the lack of progress we have made so far.' Mr Harris said he received a letter after the first incident from the person claiming responsibility. 'I appeal to the person concerned to get in touch and I assure them anything they say will be treated confidentially,' he added."
"I am in receipt today of your client's committal application, which contains the usual Perjury, nonsense & exaggeration. I note that [X] has made a statement. Please ensure this witness is ready for cross examination. I will especially be interested in asking [X] about [a] sexual relationship with ...."
".... as Committal hearings are held in open court, I will also be inviting many past mutual friends to come, as they are quite entitled to. Of course, if your client wishes to withdraw her application, [the matters relating to X] can remain undisclosed. I will be writing to [X] early next week, warning [X] of the information I recall (in clear detail) so [X] can be warned of the content of my questions, in case [X] finds it embarrassing if not fore warned. I give it until Monday 10am to hear before I take the necessary steps to head off this nonsense."
"Mark Harris, who founded Dads Against Discrimination in April, said his battle for access had lasted seven years, resulted in 112 court appearances and cost the taxpayer an estimated£300,000 . Letters The 41-year-old from Plymouth claims his ex-wife put a stop to his twice-weekly contact with their three daughters after they said they wanted to live with him. 'It has been dubbed Britain's worst access case and it's absurd,' said Mr Harris. 'I have appeared before 26 judges, including Justice Bracewell and the matter is still not resolved.'"
"Leader of Dads against Discrimination Mark Harris of Plymouth described how his life had been turned upside down. 'This has gone on for seven years since my divorce. I have been to court 112 times and to prison once trying to get the right to see my three daughters for only six days a year,' he said. 'Mrs Bracewell issued a directive while she was chairman of the Lord Chancellor's Children Act advisory committee that contact orders for children should not be enforced. 'The lower courts follow this to the letter so even where the court has ruled it is in the best interest of the child to see their father they will do nothing to enforce it. 'It condones child abuse where the mother is abusing the child by doing nothing to comply. 'Seeing my children is the most important thing in the world to me. This has been a blight on my and my children's lives,' he said."
"A father of three led a demonstration .... on Saturday against what he says is the unfair treatment of fathers in family courts. Since his divorce in 1993, Mark Harris from Plymouth has notched up 112 court hearings to determine access to his daughters, aged nine, 11 and 14. The demonstration .... was held outside the .... home of Mrs Justice Bracewell, the 25th judge to review his case. About 20 protesters took part. .... Mr Harris, who lived in [the same place] as a child, claims his court fees and legal aid over the years have cost the taxpayer£300,000 . He is allowed one day's access to his daughter each school holiday and he is fighting to see them two days a week every week. He said the demonstration staged by Dads Against Discrimination and the Equal Parenting Party aimed to draw attention to the treatment of fathers such as himself in the family courts."
"I write asking for your vigilance in this matter, to ensure some form of quality control is in place as Social Worker hostility towards me in the past has created the appalling mess this case is in. Bringing a more general point to your notice, since the farcical case before Judge Bracewell in March, I have organised a protest group called Dad's Against Discrimination, the title being self explanatory. I enclose a couple of recent news articles for your information. Although we started off protesting outside Court's, this frankly got little attention. So we moved the protesting to outside homes of initially prominent Judges. We seem to have captured more attention! Obviously, my motivation for this action is the mockery my case has become nothing else. I am not crusading for fathers generally, but linking with others to expose the injustices in my case. Of note, if my case was actually resolved satisfactorily in January, I would take no further part in the Dad's movement. I live in hope. If I have to continue to expand the Protest group, then next year I will be operating DADS as a full time, membership paying affiliation, with protests targeted at more Judges, and professionals who write bias [sic] reports to hinder access to much loved children. The press seem very hungry for these stories. There are many angry fathers willing to take part in such actions in every town. I ask you for special vigilance as to what gets into Court reports & attitudes to fathers by your staff."
"I write to ask you to investigate what is rapidly appearing to be a corrupt collusion between the mother, your office, the Local Authority (possibly) & your expert"
"Your representative, Mr Szulc, will recall the words of Justice Munby to me over suggestions I made in a letter to the mothers Solicitor regarding the likely questioning of [X], and the issue of [X's] sexual relationship with .... Munby J saw this as interfering with a witness, threatened to report me to the Attorney General, and indicated strong disapproval of my initial intention of simply warning a witness of likely embarrassing questions should [that person] choose to come to Court & commit perjury. I fail to see, taking the Judge Munby view, that my simple warning of a witness about the likely nature of some questions is interfering with a witness, when clearly your office put pressure on other parties advocates & encourage/inspire the breaching of Court orders just to smoother/cover up incompetence & laziness of staff."
"Moving on to my protest group, DADS, I trust you received the news articles on the Bracewell protest at her home last weekend Frankly, I saw & heard nothing on 30/10/00 to make me think the next hearing (the 113 th ) will be anything more than the concerted attack on me by yourself & the Local Authority. I fail to see a Judge who represented you as recently as two years ago in a high profile case (the G .... case) can possibly do anything other than follow your recommendations as you were his paymasters so recently."
"I believe no impartiality can possibly take place while you remain parties. I want the cycle of nonsense & farce brought to a close. I set up DADS solely on the back of the Bracewell farce, with the sole intention of getting public attention to my case, and my case alone. I think I am making a little headway in this respect. A national paper, constrained by the absurd Publicity Injunction which appears unlawful, are "chomping at the bit" to do a complete story on this case from the Wilson order onwards. Of course, I will protest [sic] the identies [sic] of the children in every way, but it is my intention, unless Contact is resolved, to expose the farce, corruption & waste of Public money that has infected this case since your office became involved. DADS next year (I reiterate that if Contact is restored, DADS will be disbanded) will expand protests to the Homes of more Judges, intensify past protests outside the Presidents home, ditto Bracewell, and start to expose & target Professionals who act so bias against fathers. I am considering, should Contact not progress or go backwards, turning DADS into a full time business."
"I have established press links, and learned how to attract ongoing attention. However, I WOULD RATHER JUST SEE MY CHILDREN ON A REGULAR BASIS. If I have to continue DADS, other than protests at the homes of professionals and Judges who dispense injustice, I would see 2001 consisting of absailing events down public buildings, chain up's to Courts (please see the attached booklet of my last chain up at Plymouth), convoy's of tractors towing trailers carrying messages of outrage over access to children, going from Plymouth to the RCJ, via Judges homes, your home, and other places to grab attention. The Press have already indicated interest in such matters. Also, I would consider absailing down Motorway bridges to cause congestion & get attention to my plight (with others). I would rather just see my children, in the way your predecessor in his very first report recommended if the mothers claims of Harassment were bogus."
"I write to you to find out what your office policy is over allowing open, romantically linked homosexuals to write reports, give evidence & make recommendations for Court's over children issues" and from the question he then posed: "
"As I have indicated in recent correspondence, if my case does not reach satisfactory resolution in January, protests are to be intensified to the homes of corrupt & discriminating professionals who discriminate against fathers over children matters. I think the national press will have a field day. Please give your position."
"I deprecate your repeated threats to escalate public demonstrations specifically aimed at judges or others involved in your case unless the court orders your contact to be increased. You fundamentally mistake the commitment they give to upholding the rule of law. This office will continue to do what it believes to be right in representing the best interests of your daughters and will not be deflected by such threats."
"I have since discovered a far more serious matter that needs addressing, not so much regarding 'putting anything right', but ensuring a repeat of past Social Worker behaviour does not take place. I have been informed by a DADS member in the .... area that a past Social Worker in this case lives openly with another woman. .... How on earth can homosexuals, openly hostile to normal males, involved in disputes with ex wives, over children, be allowed to write reports, make recommendations over contact, etc, when they themselves live alternative lifestyles, which are in direct conflict with matters they are to advise & recommend Court's over. .... What assurances of quality control can you give over the next report being produced by [the] office, for the Court, when I found [the social worker] in Court last March to be so hostile, evasive & bias [sic] when giving evidence. As I stated in my last letter, if I find my Contact situation is sabotaged by more corruption & siding up with my ex wife, DADS protests will also be shifted to the homes of corrupt & anti father professionals who mislead Courts. The home of [the social workers] will be the obvious first port of call. I attach further coverage of the protest outside the home of Mrs Justice Bracewell less than two weeks ago. Quality control of your reports is what I seek. Nothing else."
"If you don't make sure the kids come to contact tomorrow, your's and [your sister's] cars are fucked up."
"SUPPORT EQUAL PARENTING HOPING THAT YOUR CHRISTMAS IS AS MISERABLE AS A NON RESIDENT FATHERS CHILDREN NEED BOTH PARENTS HAPPY XMAS from an UNHAPPY X PARENT Thanks to your Corrupt & Secret Family Courts"
"As your actions since your offices' invite to represent the children almost FOUR YEARS AGO, I see you are still, just like Dr Cameron's visit 48 hours previously, gathering ammunition for the mothers claim .... I would like to take this opportunity to catalogue just some of the bizarre actions of your office which strangely trade as "acting in the interests of the children we represent."
"Our cases 27 th Judge has very recently represented your office in many cases (some very high profile) all I can hope is Mr Justice Munby does not feel some misplaced sense of loyalty to an office where he earned a very lucrative income for many years. Because that would not serve my children's interests either."
"I have numerous reasons for not wanting contact (in any form) and I'm hoping now being fourteen that I, as an individual, will be heard in this, what seems like, a never-ending battle."
"It is now four weeks since the case ended, but there is still no sign of a contact order. As you could not have failed to have noticed, [my eldest daughter] has been totally alienated by lack of contact, and the other two are going that way. That is child abuse , and it's unacceptable. I hope you agree. Therefore, in the absence of my Solicitor due to holiday, I apply for emergency interim contact of initially two hours each Friday, collection from the schools, for [my younger daughters], with directions that both schools have these children ready for collection at their receptions on each of the next four Friday's, with a known social worker - Mr [S] if available for the first two collections. Although the destruction of father/child relationships attracts compensation via European Law, I prefer contact with at least the two younger children. Alienation gets worse the longer matters are left. I have not seen [my youngest daughter] since May, [the middle one] since October, despite them both thoroughly enjoying their last visits with me. Please put in place some immediate contact to stop this escalation of destruction still further. Of note, the mother does never have to wait very long at all for orders she wants, and the Local Authority & Attorney General can gatecrash my applications at will for immediate attention. I hope you see my point in writing this letter."
"Mark Harris, of Dads Against Discrimination, said: "
"Abuses the HUMAN RIGHTS of CHILDREN and FATHERS in his role as a Judge in the British Family Courts Which:- + Holding ALL hearings in SECRET. Exposing the details is 'Contempt of Court'. + Issuing INJUNCTIONS with threat of JAIL and CONFISCATION of Assets to enforce the above. (A BREACH of the Human Right to 'Freedom of Expression' + Awarding SOLE residence to one parent ...."
"It was a storming success. The defining moment must have been when the judge's daughter came out to find what was going on. Starting from being rather alarmed, after some debate with us, I think she left even more worried about what Daddy et al had been up to in the family courts. The neighbour was classic, charging to rescue the damsel in distress .... It was difficult to have too much sympathy with the judge's daughter, she could spare a thought for .... and there then followed various comments, some quite plainly referring, if not by name, to Mr Harris. The other account recorded that: "
"It's nothing to do with me. I don't know what you're here for. My parents are away. Please go away and come back when he is here. I am on my own.""
"Paedophiles .... are not the only Child Abusers Each year hundreds of thousands of children are abused by the Secret and Corrupt Family Courts which:- + Hold ALL hearings in SECRET .... [etc] The British Equivalent of the Nazi Death Camps ...."
"I believe, in years to come, the historians will look back at the ritual destruction of father/child relationships as barbaric, and will place the names Thorpe, Butler-Sloss, Bracewell, Holman, Tyrer, etc in the same class of barbarians as the Nazi's."
"I am satisfied that the effect of your repeated contempts has been to leave your former wife and children with a beleaguered feeling of being stalked and harassed. I recognise and take into account the fact that, in part at least, that feeling has been brought about by your other antics which do not involve any contempt of court. But I am left in no doubt at all that your many breaches of HHJ Cottle's injunction have contributed very significantly to the feeling I have mentioned, not least because their knowledge that you appear to treat the orders of the court with such disdain can only increase their sense of never knowing what you are going to do next and when. I have listened very carefully to everything your counsel has said in mitigation on your behalf. In particular, as she asked me to, I have considered the context in which these contempts were committed, a context in which, viewed from your perspective, you were desperate to 'kick-start' the contact which, as you thought, was being frustrated by others. I accept that the fact that contact with your eldest daughter had by now completely broken down and that comparatively soon contact with the youngest was also to break down was something that caused you distress. I cannot, however, overlook the fact that each of these contempts involved conscious actions on your part that you knew perfectly well involved breaches of the court's orders. Your counsel has proffered your apologies. In the circumstances I cannot accept them as being sincere. Even if they were they would at this late stage be of comparatively little moment. I recognise that, as your counsel has submitted, if you go to prison your employment may come to an end and that you may have difficulty finding new employment. That weighs with me, but not, I have to say, very much. I recognise and give credit for the fact that none of these contempts involved either the use or threat of violence."
"I take a comparatively lenient view of [these] contempts. I proceed on the footing that neither occasion was planned or premeditated. Nonetheless, I cannot overlook the fact that on each occasion, having first seen the children you nonetheless continued to approach and then spoke to them, albeit briefly."
"I take a much more serious view of [these] contempts. Each of these involved planned and deliberate action. Whatever excuses you may now try to put forward, you must have known on each occasion that what you were doing was a clear and obvious breach of the injunction. As I said in my judgment yesterday, your defence to [the first] is absurd. So far as concerns [the second and third], the fact that, despite all that had previously happened, you chose to behave in this manner and then just try to shrug off the matter as somehow inconsequential or to be forgiven illustrates perfectly, as I remarked in my judgment yesterday, both the contemptuous disregard you display to the court's orders and your total failure to appreciate the effects such antics have on your daughters. Your worst punishment is probably the fact that it is precisely because of your own behaviour that none of your three daughters any longer wants anything to do with you. Your eldest daughter refused to continue to have contact with you following an earlier contempt of court dealt with by Kirkwood J on the occasion I have already mentioned. Your youngest daughter has refused to have contact with you following [the] contempt [on27 June 2000 ]. The cumulative impact of all these contempts is, I have no doubt, prominent amongst the reasons why none of your daughters is now prepared to have contact with you. I take that into account. I also take into the fact that to a greater or lesser degree each of the communications was, at least in terms of its content, fairly innocuous. The presents which form the subject of [the second] contempt were, as presents, entirely appropriate, nor were there any hidden messages inserted in them. The note which forms the subject of [the third] contempt was not merely innocuous but positive in its content. The enclosures which form the subject of [the first and fourth] contempts are rather less innocuous. Nonetheless, these contempts simply cannot be condoned. Not merely did each of these actions involve a clear contempt. In each case it is the very fact that you were communicating, in the one case with your former wife and in the other cases with your children, when they did not wish to receive your communications and when they believed they were to be protected from your unwanted attentions that makes these matters so serious. These four contempts, I have little doubt, contributed powerfully to their feeling of being stalked and harassed."
"The remaining contempts .... are, in my judgment, more serious. As I said when giving judgment yesterday, you have shown yourself more than willing to embark for your own purposes on quite deliberate defiance of the injunction prohibiting you from entering the exclusion zone. You have admitted entering the exclusion zone "on a number occasions"
"there was a clearly entrenched decision not to go to see him this time. The girls have a united view."
"All three girls have residual affection for their father, but are dismayed by his apparently blind insensitivity to their feelings both (a) during their contact visits, when he questions and emotionally pressurizes them, and (b) by his aggressively intrusive insinuation of himself into their lives, unasked, between contact visits. Because he carries a pervasive threatening aura about him, the three girls feel both angry at him, and fearful of him, for they know they are constantly at risk of being stalked and harassed by him. The sustained pressure on his daughters, which Mr Harris has exerted, has resulted in the three girls refusing to have any further direct contact with their father."
"The girls could not be shielded from Mr Mark Harris' demonstrations in Plymouth, about which he is proud, nor could they be protected from the impact of their father on their home and maternal family generally. Eventually, his pressurized questioning on their contact visits combined with his outside contact stalking and other activities, decided them to stop going on contact visits."
"[Mother] has largely cooperated with the contact orders of the Court. She did not approve or welcome the regular direct contact order but, from my own observation on one occasion and from the reports of the social workers, she has, in the main, prepared the children well and encouraged them to go. The mother, nevertheless, does feel that she and her family, and her daughters, have been emotionally bombarded by 'not knowing' quite when Mr Mark Harris is going to force himself into their lives yet again. Each member of her family feels stalked and harassed by the father, never quite knowing when he is going to pursue them next. Despite the strains imposed on her, [mother] continues to parent her three daughters well, and the girls' exceptionally good progress, in all areas of their lives, is evidence of the settled and understanding upbringing they are receiving at home."
"Mr Mark Harris has conducted a campaign of intrusive demonstrations. In the early years he used to stalk and wave at his children, when they were on their way to school (captured by covert TV surveillance). His campaign intensified, and by seeking out the girls and their mother, and by intruding into the exclusion zone, as well as by covertly sending messages, he has persistently inched himself into the family's awareness, so that they now feel constantly watched and followed by him. So as to achieve his ends, Mr Mark Harris has chosen to use similarly intrusive stalking and demonstration tactics against legal, social work, and other professionals involved in his case. He thinks intimidation works. It now seems apparent, from the way this case has developed, that Mr Mark Harris has twin campaigns which he is pursuing at the same time:- (i) First, the genuine wish to cure the 'contact dispute' and have fulfilling regular staying contact visits by all three of his children, as occurs in the average post-divorce situation. (ii) Secondly, a campaign to irritate, intimidate, and undermine the professionalism of social workers, lawyers and doctors involved in the case, with the intention that his menaces should distort the impartial advice normally given to Courts in this type of private family law case."
"These children do not have a problem within themselves. Their 'contact refusal' is a simple reaction against the pressurizing questioning and undermining influence of their father, who seems to try to make them say negative and critical things about their maternal family, as well as indirectly pursuing and hassling them in their ordinary daily lives. They have had enough of their father's activities, and they do not think he is likely to stop. Is [mother] a 'parental alienator'? The answer is - No. Although she resisted the children's direct contact with their father she has cooperated with the Court Order and encouraged the children to continue seeing their father for as long as possible. Both the representative of the local authority who escorts the children on contact, and myself, have observed the children being prepared by their mother for a direct contact visit. She does so calmly and efficiently, taking a broadly supportive stance. There is none of the emotional enmeshment, between [the girls] with their mother, which is seen in cases where 'parental alienation' has occurred. Instead, the mother has promoted contact with both paternal grandparents, as well as with the father, and the three children are being brought up with a balanced family knowledge of both sides of their family. The 'contact problem' is not located in the mother. This father has a hungry need for his daughters to be with him, and has sought to have more and more of them."
"In consequence there has been a gradual emotional strain growing within them, coinciding with their visits to their father's home, and their sense of trust and confidence in him has weakened. His public demonstrations have had the unfortunate effect of lowering his reputation still further in his daughters' eyes. Whether fair or not, the girls attribute the petrol hosepipe cutting, and the paint stripper application on their car, directly to their father. They say, - "
"Mr Mark Harris believes that he is one of those 'meritorious' fathers who is being denied contact. He is mistaken. His children had regular enjoyable contact visits with him, as he himself has remarked, and it is his own pressurizing questioning during the contact occasions, combined with his hostile stalking and harassing between contacts, which has led to all three girls refusing to have contact visits with him anymore. Mr Harris needs to ask not 'what can my children do for me'? (i.e. my rights), but 'what can I do for my children'? (i.e. my responsibility)."
"By his unrelenting emotional psychological pressure on the mother and the maternal family generally, by his constant pressurizing questioning of the children on contact visits, by his intimidatory menacing of social work and other mental health professionals, and by his public demonstrations and protests against the judiciary, Mr Mark Harris has succeeded in making this an exceptional case. Despite the immense amount of professional time taken up by Mr Mark Harris' legal and other activities, at the heart of this contact dispute are three girls growing up well in a loving home provided by their mother. Perhaps because of his solitary life experience, Mr Mark Harris looks on this contact dispute as a problem to be won, rather than as a human situation which calls for cooperation and understanding acceptance by all. He remains determined to win, and he cannot understand that it is his own actions which have caused his daughters to reject him."
"I consider there should be a firm 'no direct contact order' to last for the foreseeable future. .... The emotional strain, on the children from having direct contact with their father, is harmful and far outweighs any benefit they derive from seeing him. All three girls are of an age to know that their father is alive and well, and they would like to see him at some time in the future. .... If the father can make recognizable sincere strides to ameliorate his own difficulties and curb his behavioural excesses, then it is just possible that contact could be started again in the future. .... So far as indirect contact is concerned, the good regular letters sent by Mr Mark Harris have outlived their usefulness. He should leave his daughters to get on with their lives, and send them Christmas and birthday cards and one summer holiday postcard annually. Within each birthday and Christmas card he could, if he so wishes, include a Bank of England note, so that each of his daughters can buy a 'daddy's present' for themselves. No distinction should be made between the three children."
"[Mother] is bringing up her three daughters well and has discharged her maternal caring duties towards the girls admirably. This family is a delight to visit. Each of the three girls has a remarkably different personality, and yet there is a harmonious living together unity which gives their home a sense of proper family life. As an individual, [mother] has quiet determination but can get squashed by a more powerful authority. She is not a devious or underhand person, and she regrets the years she spent living with Mr Mark Harris when she felt her values were corrupted. In my opinion, she has not exaggerated their father's misdemeanours to her daughters, and they have been able to observe many of his public activities for themselves. The father remains embittered, hostile towards the mother and all authority, feeling that he himself has been wronged, and is determined to battle the matter out against everyone, outside the Courts, if the case does not go his way. Mr Mark Harris' personality is coloured by (a) some features found in dissocial personality disorder, and (b) an obsessive self-willed determination to get his rights by whatever means. This combination means that Mr Mark Harris is, at times, not an entirely rational being. He idolizes the 'rightness of himself' and attributes to others a near-paranoid plot against him, which is denying him his rights to have a full relationship with his daughters. He is filled with self-pity. The worry is that this solitary man seems to be becoming more and more desperate. He makes menacing remarks, and goes to considerable lengths to discomfort Family Law professionals seeking to assist with his case. If he himself, or his agents, were responsible for the fire-setting at the maternal grandmother's home, and/or the petrol hose-pipe cutting of the mother's car, then such actions show a reckless disregard for the safety of others."
"Mr Mark Harris loves his children and feels desolate without them. He wishes to fill the emptiness in his private life with his children. But children are neither 'need-meeters' nor 'comfort blankets' to fill gaps in adults' lives. His children deserve respect, and should not be used as emotional props. These three girls are growing up and, as each of them is so very different, each deserves cherishing in their own particular way. Mr Mark Harris has obsessive traits, which enable him to focus with tunnel vision on a particular task. He did this successfully during his fraud career, when he amassed a sizeable capital sum of money. He has turned that same obsessive tunnel vision towards his contact dispute, but cannot distinguish between forces promoting contact (namely the professionals who start from a presumption of contact in post-divorce cases), and activities which jeopardize contact. He is blind to the fact that his own antisocial behaviour, noticed by his children, has damaged his image in their eyes, and this compounded with his ceaseless pressurizing of them emotionally, form the essence of his being the sole author of the contact breakdown. There are two possible ways forward for this father:- (i) Either he will accept the need to work with a professional, perhaps Dr N, to understand how he can come to be seen as a 'meritorious' father in the eyes of his children, the mother and the authorities, (ii) or his campaign of public displays and aggression will escalate, jeopardizing the safety and well-being of his children and other family members, and extend into ever more dramatic public displays drawing attention to his alleged plight."
"In my opinion there is a real, but unquantifiable, risk of Mr Mark Harris causing harm to property or people, either by his own actions, or by those acting on his behalf, as his disappointment and desperateness at being denied contact takes hold. Mr Mark Harris' behaviour as a non-custodial father having contact difficulties, is extreme and outside ordinary experience. The escalation from roof-top protests to public displays outside the Courts in Plymouth ad London, to claiming to be the hoax bomber on the A38, to breaking car windows, to being allegedly involved with petrol hosepipe cutting and allegedly fire setting of the mother-in-law's fence, all point to a gradual increase in the graveness of his actions. Although these dramatics are side issues, much as are his numerous legal applications, the escalating desperateness of his efforts raises concern that he could easily, next time, go too far and cause permanent injury or worse. He promises this, when he says menacingly, - "
"Mr Mark Harris cannot be regarded as a 'meritorious' father. He does not support his children financially, nor has he been able to sustain a positive-enough relationship with them on day contact visits for their trust in him to grow. .... Mr Harris is seen as a negative influence by all three of his children, and if he wishes to earn their respect and trust he must begin to respect their right to get on with their own lives without feeling constantly harassed and stalked by him. His seeking to find out about their lives at school, would be seen by the three children as their father yet again insinuating himself unacceptably in their midst. If the father aims to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of his children, then he should delegate sole responsibility for permission-giving for school trips etc. to the mother. The father should be told about the events, in an end of term report, but his children will be harmed if they know their father is informed and might stalk them on school outings. This father has shown himself unable to restrain himself from breaking Injunctions and from impulsively seeking out his daughters such as at [the superstore], or when he pursued [the eldest girl] into school. He is unaware of the harmful impact which his sudden appearances have on them. Were the father to know that any of the girls were going on a particular school trip, there is a chance that he would appear and impose himself on them publicly. His word that he would not do so cannot be trusted."
"1 Echoing the three children's determined action and wishes, arising out of their experiences, a no direct contact order by the Court will strengthen them, and reassure them that their unhappy experiences have been listened to, understood, and acted upon appropriately. 2 Indirect contact should continue, confined to:- (1) One summer holiday postcard annually to each child. (2) One birthday card to each child, enclosing a Bank of England note. (3) One Christmas card to each child, enclosing a Bank of England note. The messages should be concise, affectionate and not pressurizing. .... 4 The exclusion zone injunctions, perhaps with a Power of Arrest, are needed to guarantee the children's continuing peace of mind in their own home. The Future 5 .... Mr Mark Harris' desperation is increasing, and gradually moving him towards committing more dramatic acts. From a child and family psychiatric perspective the risk is real, it is getting closer, but it is not quantifiable. The risk is violence. 6 .... If Mr Harris really does wish to see his children, and re-establish normal relationships with them, then he needs to consult a professional of his own choice, admit he has a contact problem, and try to overcome it. .... 7 From my recent interviews with the children, from my previous knowledge of the case, and from my discussions with professionals such as the social workers who know the children well, I consider that these children have been subjected to ' emotional abuse ' by their father, which has been detrimental to their welfare. .... 8 Following the principle that children benefit from direct contact with the non-custodial parent, the Court ordered a resumption of direct contact. Despite the girls receiving excellent support from Plymouth Social Services Department and from their mother whenever they went on contact visits, the father could not stop himself using pressurized intrusive questioning during the direct contact visits, nor could he cease stalking and harassing the children and the maternal family in between visits. His psychologically stressful and damaging actions have removed his children's trust in him and respect for him, and they now refuse to go on contact. The children were used as a litmus paper test, to see whether this father was ready to behave responsibly on direct contact visits. The children's emotional well-being, and trusting affection for their father, were risked in this 'trial of contact' 9 The children's welfare is likely to be enhanced by:- (1) No direct contact order. (2) Indirect contact by Christmas and birthday cards (enclosing a Bank of England note) and one summer postcard to each child, to continue. (3) The exclusion zone injunctions, perhaps with power of arrest, to continue. (4) Mr Mark Harris personally consulting Dr N, voluntarily. (5) Being told the above, and that they will not be troubled any more by their father for the time being."
"The burden of Mr Harris's application is his view that the Official Solicitor has done nothing to help the case or his children but has merely blocked and hindered contact. Indeed it is quite clear from various newspaper articles, in relation to totally unrelated cases, that Mr Harris has placed before the court, that he has a general view that the Official Solicitor has, what he regards as a "feminist and anti-father" approach. I do not share that view. I personally have very great regard for the office of the Official Solicitor and for his staff and for the work that they do to assist the courts in relation to children generally and for all that the Official Solicitor has done to assist the court in relation to these children, in particular. There is absolutely no justifiable reason whatsoever to remove the Official Solicitor from this case and indeed it would be a tremendous disadvantage to do so. It is obvious that this case require further investigation from somebody with a great deal more skill and experience than, with respect to them, a normal court welfare officer has."
"generations of judges .... have always regarded the Official Solicitor as an indispensable last resort when all other welfare agencies and services have, or are likely to fail. His assistance .... has enabled the court to solve many intractable "welfare" problems .... the Official Solicitor is much more than a mere guardian ad litem. He is at once an amicus curiae, an independent solicitor acting for the children, an investigator, an adviser."
"the outstanding services which the Official Solicitor can and does render to the courts."
" Bomb hoax A38 Mr Mark Harris accepted responsibility for this, as the publicity for DADS was good."
" BOMB Hoax on A38. Accepted. "
"I have spent much more time on this topic than it deserves. I have done so for three reasons. First, because I am anxious that father should not go away thinking that points he wishes to make have not been carefully considered before being rejected. Secondly, because it is a telling example of the kind of mare's nest that father is so adept at finding. It is a splendid illustration of how a point, at best of peripheral importance and in fact wholly devoid of substance, assumes major significance in father's perception of the case and thus enables him to avoid facing up to what are in truth the real issues which he has to address if he is ever to move forward and enjoy a satisfactory relationship with his children. Thirdly, because it is the kind of wholly misconceived point which serves only to fuel father's conspiracy view of life and his perception that everyone who disagrees with him is, if not actually corrupt or dishonest, somehow pursuing an agenda designed to do him down."
"The emotional strain, on the children from having direct contact with their father, is harmful and far outweighs any benefit they derive from seeing him."
"Reading witness statement of Mr Harris, it is clear that he has not changed. He still seeks to blame and criticise everyone else rather than accept that his actions and behaviour have been the root of the problem."
"This case is now so extreme, but relatively simple to put right, I urge the Court to take radical & swift action with these children. I ask the Court, having allowed around one third of a MILLION POUNDS to be wasted to get nowhere, to invest a few thousand pounds more in removing all three children to a neutral setting (foster care / hospital) with both myself & the mother having equal visiting contact for a period of time. .... The abuse of these children, emotionally, in the home is almost as bad as sexual abuse - grounds to remove these girls is clear." "
"I expect the Court to reverse the nonsense it has facilitated since 1997 by not only dismissing the Specific Issue application, but removing ALL Injunctions, restrictions on school information & move swiftly to restore me fully in the Children's lives, to limit the abuse that takes place by a maternal family that simply "bond together" when attacking me .... I urge the Court to shift "
"That judgment when drawn up, instead of reciting what the order of the Court was and what the defendants were restrained from doing, only refers to continuing an injunction granted by Rowlatt J, varied by Roche J, and continued by Greer J, without stating what it is that the Court was ordering the defendants to abstain from doing. That appears to me to be very bad practice .... It is a matter of very great importance that the orders of the Court .... should make it quite clear what the Court is ordering to be done. There is considerable laxity in this matter .... Practitioners and the officers of the Court should see that orders are not passed unless they are in proper form."
"I do want to protest as strongly as I can at the granting of injunctions in that form. It means then that the person against whom the injunction is granted .... has to look at another document in order to see what it is that he is enjoined from doing .... It cannot be too clearly understood .... that a person is entitled to look and look only at the order to see what it is that he is enjoined from doing. He looks at that order and finds out from the four walls of it and from no other document exactly what it is that he must not do."
"provides us with some peace of mind otherwise we feel that we will have to "look over our shoulders" all of the time. It is very important that the children are able to travel to school without fearing that they will be intercepted by Mr Harris. We have been the victims of long and sustained campaigns of harassment by Mr Harris in the past and do not want to be exposed to this in future as it caused considerable upset to the children and I."
"significant part of the endeavour of the court to try to establish confidence and trust in the case."
"From my point of view, I am very exasperated and disheartened with the continual proceedings which I find stressful and upsetting. I feel emotionally drained and I feel that the proceedings have taken over my life. For seven years there has not been a break from the ongoing litigation despite the intention that there should be periods of calm by the [section 91(14)] Orders .... I desperately want a period of calm for the children and myself."
"a Defendant cannot be committed for contempt on the ground that upon one of two possible constructions of an undertaking being given he has broken that undertaking. For the purpose of relief of this character I think the undertaking must be clear and the breach must be clear beyond all question."
"Any restraint on publication which is imposed is intended to protect the ward and those who care for the ward from the risk of harassment."
"The Court reiterates that the press plays a pre-eminent role in a State governed by the rule of law. Although it must not overstep certain bounds set, inter alia , for the protection of the reputation of others, it is nevertheless incumbent on it to impart - in a way consistent with its duties and responsibilities - information and ideas on political questions and on other matters of public interest. This undoubtedly includes questions concerning the functioning of the system of justice, an institution that is essential for any democratic society. The press is one of the means by which politicians and public opinion can verify that judges are discharging their heavy responsibilities in a manner that is in conformity with the aim which is the basis of the task entrusted to them."
"Regard must, however, be had to the special role of the judiciary in society. As the guarantor of justice, a fundamental value in a law-governed State, it must enjoy public confidence if it is to be successful in carrying out its duties. It may therefore prove necessary to protect such confidence against destructive attacks that are essentially unfounded, especially in view of the fact that judges who have been criticised are subject to a duty of discretion that precludes them from replying."
"The phrase "authority of the judiciary" includes, in particular, the notion that the courts are, and are accepted by the public at large as being, the proper forum for the settlement of legal disputes and for the determination of a person's guilt or innocence on a criminal charge; further, that the public at large have respect for and confidence in the court's capacity to fulfil that function. "
"News reporting based on interviews, whether edited or not, constitutes one of the most important means whereby the press is able to play its vital role of "public watchdog."
"the liberty of the press is essential to the nature of a free state. The price that we pay is that that liberty may be and sometimes is harnessed to the carriage of liars and charlatans, but that cannot be avoided if the liberty is to be preserved."
"I deprecate your repeated threats to escalate public demonstrations specifically aimed at judges or others involved in your case unless the court orders your contact to be increased. You fundamentally mistake the commitment they give to upholding the rule of law. This office will continue to do what it believes to be right in representing the best interests of your daughters and will not be deflected by such threats."