https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74zyw00zkeo

Key points:

  • A man whose ex-partner forged paternity test results to make him believe he was the father of her child said what she did had ruined his life.

  • He called for a change in the law to allow for mandatory paternity testing before a birth is registered.

  • A Home Office spokesman said it took such cases seriously. The spokesman said: "Fraud, and specifically paternity fraud, is a truly terrible crime, and those who provide false information on a birth certificate already face a criminal conviction. "Work is under way on a new, expanded Fraud Strategy and we continue to work closely with private industry, law enforcement and tech companies to go after those committing fraud." However, he added: "There are no plans to change the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 to include mandatory paternity testing prior to a birth registration taking place."

My own thoughts:

  • This really ought to have been a bigger story than it is. Kind of wild that the first I saw anyone mention this was a small Facebook group I follow.

  • A suspended sentence means that the woman in question hasn’t really been punished. It’s interesting that the Homeoffice spokesperson notes how awful the crime is, but the sentence does not reflect this.

  • No intention to change current laws. Of course not. That might actually help people 🙄