Re M (Loss of Parental Responsibility)

Permission to Appeal application lodged

Case summary
Linked cases
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2026/0065

Parties

Appellant(s)

Father

Respondent(s)

Mother

Child

Issue

Does an individual acquire parental responsibility for a child where they are registered as the child’s father on the birth certificate, but they are not in fact the child’s biological father?

Facts

This appeal arises out of proceedings concerning the care of a child, M, brought by a local authority. M was conceived after the mother and the mother’s partner, AM, purchased sperm over the internet from an anonymous donor. They did not use a licensed fertility clinic. AM was not the biological father, but he was registered as the father on M’s birth certificate. The mother has since moved abroad, and the child was living with AM. The child then became the subject of care proceedings by the Local Authority, due to risks that AM was alleged to pose to the children in the proceedings. DNA evidence demonstrated that AM was not the biological father of M. The Local Authority sought a declaration from the court that AM was not the child’s father and sought an order terminating any parental responsibility that AM may have. The judge, HHJ Tucker, made a declaration that AM was not the father of M. She held that the term ‘father’ in the Children Act 1989 (“the CA 1989”) was limited to a child’s natural or legal father. She held that, as a result of the declaration of non-paternity, any parental responsibility that AM had held for M would be lost automatically. In the alternative, if an order was required, she would have made an order removing parental responsibility. AM appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal. AM now appeals to the Supreme Court. The hearing before the Court of Appeal was conjoined with appeals concerning two other children, known as Re P and Re J, due to similar issues arising. The appellant in Re P has also appealed to the Supreme Court, which has been linked with this appeal.