There’s a Hysterical, Paranoid War on Fatherhood – and It Hurts All Of Us
by Martin Daubney, HeatStreet:
In the past two days, two stories of respectable, loving fathers accused of impropriety around their own children have crystallised something pernicious in our culture.
First, we have the tawdry tale of Craig Darwell, a widower accused by hotel staff of being a paedophile because he booked a hotel room with Millie, his 13-year-old daughter.
Darwell, 46, who was treating Millie to a trip to Thorpe Park, discovered police were already on their way after a Travelodge manager confronted him and demanded he prove he was her father.
“He said it was company policy and I had to go onto Facebook to show messages I’ve sent to her,” says Darwell, from Leeds.
“It was bizarre and really offensive. It took them about two seconds to realise he had got the wrong end of the stick, but it ruined the weekend for me”.
Faced with a PR disaster, Travelodge has launched an investigation, extolling how concerned it is with protecting children – but, clearly, not their fathers.
The next day, it emerged that dad-of-three Matt O’Connor, 50, had been told by a waiter it was “inappropriate” to hug his son during a family meal.