In the name of the fathers

Officers arrested 14 people after members of campaign group Fathers 4 Justice barged through security staff to heckle the General Synod's showpiece Sunday service.

The Archbishops of York and Canterbury looked on as campaigners dressed as monks, vicars and nuns ran amok after battering open a glass door, leaving it shattered and a steward nursing minor injuries.

Two men who simultaneously climbed on the roof of the historic building unfurled a banner reading "In The Name of the Father". It was 11 hours later before they came down, to be arrested.

The protest group, which last grabbed the headlines when members threw purple powder at Tony Blair during Prime Minister's question time, wants the church to lobby the Government for better access rights for fathers.

York Minster steward Peter Lyddon said today that an urgent security review would take place, but organisers were not willing to turn a church service into a "fortress".

PC Paul Maloney, of York Police, who is responsible for co-ordinating events in the city, said talks would take place with the Archbishop's office to see if more security was needed.

Synod member Martin Dales, of Old Malton, described the protest as a "scandal" and said he would be asking North Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Della Cannings for better security for church leaders.

He said congregation members feared a terrorist attack when they heard bangs and crashes like an "explosion" as campaigners forced their way inside.

"If they had been terrorists they could have held the place to ransom with ease. We had seen it all last year with Peter Tatchell, but we did not expect it two years running," he added.

Last year, the human rights campaigner marched in to a meeting of the General Synod at the University of York and claimed the Anglican church was prejudiced against gays.

Speaking after yesterday's protest, The Dean of York, the Very Reverend Keith Jones, said: "We deeply regret the violent intrusion into a place of Christian worship and witness. That should not have happened."

Grandfather Chris Hawkins, 63, of Fathers 4 Justice, said: "We are bringing home to the church that they cannot stand aside from such an important issue.

"We feel that the church is more interested in marrying people than looking after them when their marriages break down. Our members have approached the church for help and it has been refused.

"It is not just about publicity. We have found on other occasions over the past 18 months that organisations targeted have realised that there is a problem."

During the service, the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, called for "good neighbourliness" and a greater simplicity in people's lives.

All 14 people who were arrested yesterday on suspicion of assault, criminal damage and in the case of the two men on the Minster roof, wasting police time, have been released on police bail.

Angry fathers storm Minster showpiece

YORK Minster became the latest high-profile target of headline-grabbing campaign group Fathers 4 Justice.

The antics of more than a dozen members in clerical dress who burst into a service in front of the two most senior members of the Church of England are not the first to have made national news.

Earlier this year, an emergency security review was triggered at the Houses of Parliament after two members threw purple flour at Prime Minister Tony Blair during a packed session.

Meanwhile, in April in York, the Evening Press reported that members of the group donned decontamination suits and hurled buckets of water at the Fishergate branch of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Six masked protesters took part launching a day of action against the service's offices across the region.

Among the group who ran riot in the Minster yesterday was organiser Matt O'Conner, 37, who caused traffic chaos in central London when he dressed as Spider-Man and climbed a crane at Tower Bridge.

He was brought crashing to the ground by a steward who rugby-tackled him as he rushed up the Nave yesterday, before being thrown out as he shouted: "Shame on you, justice for fathers."

Eight demonstrators who made it to the altar linked arms and tried to halt the proceedings as the congregation of more than 1,000 at the showpiece service defiantly continued with the hymn, There's A Wideness in God's Mercy.

The Dean then calmed the situation by offering the group a few minutes to make their protest. This they did, with one member claiming that the church failed to support fathers when their marriages broke down.

Outside, two members had climbed scaffolding on the Minster where they hung a banner announcing their cause before staging an 11-hour sit-in, before being arrested by police.

Last year, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, with members of the protest group Outrage, burst into a discussion meeting of the General Synod at the University of York.

Mr Tatchell, who rose to fame after attempting to make a citizen's arrest on Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, was protesting against what he claimed was a bias against homosexuals in the Anglican church.

Members of the congregation today called for a review of security for senior clergy and members of the Minster and police have pledged to look at new measures for other high-profile meetings.

Last month, the group said it planned to target St Paul's Cathedral with a similar protest, but this has not happened.

Updated: 10:27 Monday, July 12, 2004