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Brothers in court trust fund row | Brothers in court trust fund row |
(about 6 hours later) | |
The mother of two sons has told a court her younger child was not fathered by her husband and so should not get a share of a £300,000 family trust fund. | The mother of two sons has told a court her younger child was not fathered by her husband and so should not get a share of a £300,000 family trust fund. |
Diana Northcott, 79, from Guildford, Surrey, told the High Court her son, David, 39, was the son of an ex-head of the British Medical Association (BMA). | |
DNA tests show David, from north London, and brother Adrian, 44, of Leicestershire, have different fathers. | |
The High Court is being asked to make a ruling on David's paternity. | The High Court is being asked to make a ruling on David's paternity. |
At stake are shares in the family trust fund. | At stake are shares in the family trust fund. |
'Marriage in trouble' | 'Marriage in trouble' |
Mrs Northcott told the court David was born after she asked a friend, Dr John Havard, to make her pregnant. | Mrs Northcott told the court David was born after she asked a friend, Dr John Havard, to make her pregnant. |
She said she did not want another child by her husband, John, because their marriage was in trouble. | She said she did not want another child by her husband, John, because their marriage was in trouble. |
A former chief executive of the BMA, Dr Harvard, now 83, became David's godfather and was at his christening, but denies he is his father. | |
He has refused to take a DNA test, the court was told. | He has refused to take a DNA test, the court was told. |
Mrs Northcott told Mr Justice Blackburne that her husband, who died after they split up in 1970, never knew David was not his son. | Mrs Northcott told Mr Justice Blackburne that her husband, who died after they split up in 1970, never knew David was not his son. |
'Most gallant' | 'Most gallant' |
But she said she told David the truth during an argument when he was 16. | But she said she told David the truth during an argument when he was 16. |
She had known Dr Havard since she was 10 years old and went to meet him in Pall Mall in 1966. | |
She claimed she asked him to help her have another child and he was "most gallant". | She claimed she asked him to help her have another child and he was "most gallant". |
Speaking from the witness box on Tuesday, Adrian said: "David knows that Dr Havard is his father." | |
But he added he had asked his mother not to tell the trustees of the family fund, because "it is a relatively small amount... and half its value will be taken by these proceedings". | |
David said he could not say who his father was, but that his mother was "dysfunctional" and prone to making "unfounded and often damaging remarks about others". |
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