“I just want my daughter,” says Briton

Her biological father, a successful English businessman who was a regular visitor to the island for business and pleasure, discovered on October 8, 2008, that he had a 19-month-old daughter here in Majorca and set about taking steps to gain custody of her.

Yesterday, John, exclusively told the Bulletin his story, which has taken a twist this week because, despite being ordered to hand Marga over to her biological father by the Social Services, her foster parents failed to comply with the order and yesterday John said that, as one last resort, he has denounced the foster parents for “kidnap and abduction”. “The foster parents knew this was coming. I have been in touch with Social Services since October 13, 2008, took a DNA test last November and since the start of June have been granted time with Marga. Firstly with a child psychologist and on the last two ocassions, unaccompanied. “We had a great time, she's so happy and for that I must thank the foster parents, but the law is the law and they were ordered last Thursday to hand her over to me, her biological father.

Battle “Since I began the battle to gain custody of my daughter, which I have to admit I knew would not be easy, the authorities have thoroughly checked me out, my background, my financial situation and, obviously, my mental state of mind and have agreed that Marga should be handed over to my custody. “But, since the visits began being allowed and it became clear that I had a good chance of winning the custody battle, the foster parents started becoming increasingly evassive. For example, they failed to turn up to 15 meetings with me and the Social Services claiming Marga was sick. Back in April, I even offered to try and establish a fluid dialogue with the foster parents so we could keep in touch and Marga and I could email photos etc. on a regular basis, but they weren't interested.

Foster “In the eyes of the Social Sercices and the law, they are no longer Marga's foster parents. She should have been in my custody since Thurdsay when, amidst a staged demonstration organised on Facebook and in front of eight armed police whom the foster parents called, they refused to hand Marga over in an attempt to intimidate me. “On seeing the totally unexpected situation, I just sat back, not wanting to put a foot wrong and play into their hands. Even their lawyer signed off custody last Tuesday and, with the full knowledge of the Social Services, I had three one way tickets booked back to the UK for next week to take Marga and her Spanish nanny to her new home in the UK.

Comply with law “What am I supposed to do now, the foster parents have failed to comply with the law and I fear they may try and get her out of the country, that is why I am trying to denounce them for kidnap and abduction yesterday. It's sad for everyone involved, I know that, but the longer this goes on the worse it will be for everyone, especially Marga. People were shouting about her being torn from her family and taken to a different country and all that. She's only four-and-a-half and I already have her enlisted with a private school for January where she will learn a host of languages and her room is ready with all new clothes and toys in England. “This process has been so slow and frustrating, it's been a total disgrace,” said John, who the British media are desperate to talk to next week.