Court of appeal says it cannot rule on which identical twin fathered a child
A woman who had sex with identical twins within four days of each other is unable to ensure one of them takes parental responsibility because it is “not possible” to know which is the father, the court of appeal has said.One of the twins was registered as the father on the birth certificate of the child, referred to as P.His identical twin, along with the mother, sought to take over parental responsibility by asking the court of appeal to overturn a previous family court decision.Sir Andrew McFarlane, sitting with Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, said that while DNA testing has revealed that either of the twins could be the father, it cannot distinguish between them so there is a 50% chance of the correct father being already on the birth certificate.He said the twin on the birth register will no longer have parental responsibility until the court hears further arguments.
The identities of the child, the twins and the mother have been protected by the court.In a judgment handed down earlier this month, McFarlane said: “Currently the truth of P’s paternity is that their father is one or other of these two identical twins, but it is not possible to say which.“It is possible, indeed likely, that by the time P reaches maturity it may be possible for science to identify one father and exclude the other twin, but, for the coming time that cannot be done without very significant cost, and so her ‘truth’ is binary and not a single man.”Judge Madeleine Reardon previously found that “both brothers had had sex” with the woman “within four days of each other in the month when P was conceived”, and that “it is equally likely that each of the brothers is P’s father”.McFarlane said that the first twin “was not entitled” to be registered as the father and that any parental responsibility he had as a result “shall cease”.
But he said that he was “wholly unpersuaded” to declare that this first twin was not the father,He added: “The failure to prove a fact means that that fact is not proved, it does not mean that the contrary is proved,“There is a distinction between something being not proven, and making a positive declaration that the fact asserted is not true,”McFarlane said it was “plainly not in P’s welfare interests for this ambiguity as to parental responsibility to continue”,He added it would be for a lower court to determine “either, both or neither of the twins should now be granted parental responsibility”.
Marmite maker Unilever agrees $44.8bn deal to combine food arm with McCormick
Unilever has agreed to combine its food business with US-based McCormick in a $44.8bn deal that will give the Marmite-to-Hellmann’s mayonnaise owner majority control of a food empire.The Anglo-Dutch company will control 65% of the new spin-off, which will combine brands such as Knorr and Pot Noodle with McCormick’s condiments and spices including French’s mustard, Old Bay seasoning and Cholula hot sauce.However, the combined company will be called McCormick and led by its executives, with senior management representation from the ranks of Unilever’s food business.Under the agreement, McCormick will pay London-listed Unilever $15
Centuries-old pottery firm Denby set to call in administrators
Denby has called in administrators, putting the 217-year-old Derbyshire pottery at risk of closure with the loss of almost 600 jobs.The company, which was rescued from administration in 2009 by the restructuring experts Hilco and also owns the Burleigh brand, produced by Burgess and Leigh based in Stoke-on-Trent, is understood to have struggled with the surging cost of gas, higher labour costs, tighter financial markets and softening consumer demand for its premium homeware.Earlier this month, Sebastian Lazell, the chief executive of Denby, told BBC News he was “trying to move heaven and earth” to save the business.A #SaveDenby campaign was launched in an attempt to encourage people to buy more products and to lobby the government to provide support.Denby Group said on Tuesday that “the outpouring of support” in response to the campaign had been “overwhelming and deeply moving” but it had been unable to secure “strategic investment partners” to help the business continue
UK parents: what do you think about the government’s advice on screen time for children under five?
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Palantir’s UK boss criticises ‘ideological’ groups as ministers move to scrap NHS contract
Palantir’s UK boss has urged the government not to give in to “ideologically motivated campaigners” as government ministers explore a way out of a £330m NHS contract with the tech company.Ministers have sought advice on triggering a break clause in Palantir’s deal to deliver the Federated Data Platform (FDP), amid questions over the company’s presence in the public sector.The FDP is an AI-enabled data platform designed to connect disparate health information across the NHS, while Palantir also has contracts with the Ministry of Defence, several police forces and the UK’s financial watchdog.Louis Mosley, the executive vice-chair of Palantir in the UK, told the Times the government should resist calls to eject the company from NHS England’s data systems.“Having a review clause in a contract is good and normal practice
A gleaming tribute to Mary Rand’s gold | Brief letters
As a schoolboy, I was fascinated by coverage of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. A few years later, on a family holiday, we visited Wells Cathedral. Outside the grounds lay a gleaming brass strip in the pavement marking the distance that Mary Rand long-jumped to create her world record. A lovely tribute to this remarkable person (Mary Rand, first British woman to win Olympic athletics gold, dies aged 86, 27 March).Anil BhattSunderland Your review of the fourth instalment of Alan Bennett’s diaries, Enough Said (24 March), says he nearly always notes the anniversary of the beginning of his national service: “8/8/52
‘The computer went bananas’: error at O’Brien yard removes horses from 2,000 Guineas
The betting market for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on 2 May was thrown into confusion on Tuesday when two significant candidates from the Aidan O’Brien stable, Gstaad and Albert Einstein, were taken out of the race, apparently as the result of an administrative error.The chaos was then compounded later in the day by uncertainty over whether a plan to re-engage both colts if necessary at a cost of £30,000 each might be prohibited by the rules of entry, before the British Horseracing Authority confirmed that supplementary entries would in fact be accepted.Gstaad, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in November, was priced up on Tuesday morning at around 6‑1 for the first Classic of the season, and seen as potentially the Ballydoyle first string for a race the stable has won a record 10 times.He assumed the role of O’Brien’s No 1 contender after Albert Einstein, the winner of his first two starts as a juvenile in 2025 but unraced beyond May because of injury, finished only sixth of 10 runners on his three‑year‑old debut in a Listed race at the Curragh three days ago.Despite that reverse, however, and a subsequent suggestion that Albert Einstein might revert to sprinting with the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot as an initial target, the colt was still priced up at 20-1 for the 2,000 Guineas and O’Brien intended to confirm both two-year-olds at the latest declaration stage on Tuesday
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