View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
July 2, 2010

Milton Keynes Citizen campaigns to bring kids back

By Oliver Luft

The Milton Keynes Citizen has launched a campaign aimed at helping a local father return his sons back to the United Kingdom.

The weekly paper has thrown its support behind Ken Spooner’s efforts to get three-year-old Devlan and five-year-old and Caelan back from Zambia where they were taken by their mother 21 months ago.

The Citizen launched its ‘Justice for Ken’ campaign last week after the Zambian Supreme Court dismissed a High Court order making the boys Wards of the English Court and demanding they be return to this country to decide their future.

Spooner, who has so far spent £200,000 of his own money trying to get his children back, was told by the Zambian court that he should have made a similar order Zambia.

Craig Lewis, deputy editor of the Citizen, said: ‘We have been following the case for the last three months, but decided to act after the Zambian Supreme Court dismissed the English Order.

‘Thus, we launched our ‘Justice for Ken’ campaign last week. Since then the issue has been raised in the House of Commons by local MP Mark Lancaster and we have launched a petition asking the British Government to intervene.”

The situation was made worse last week when Spooner was arrested for allegedly trying to abduct the children who have been in Zambia since their mother Zanetta Nyendwa – Spooner’s former girlfriend – took them on a holiday from which she and they never returned.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Spooner’s local MP Mark Lancaster last week drew attention to his plight by asking a question about the case in the House of Commons.

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network