It’s not usual for you, Tom

THE case of Tom Jones and his estranged son, Jonathan Berkery, is deeply peculiar. After having a fling with Berkery’s mother in 1987, Jones denied he was the father, until a DNA test proved otherwise. Yet still, he won’t get involved or recognise his parentage.

Jonathan is homeless, down on his luck and lives in a shelter in New Jersey. As my colleague Annette Witheridge reported this week, he sleeps on a mat in a room with 30 other men and has yet to receive a birthday or Christmas card, or even a phone call, from his father.

Why doesn’t Tom just acknowledge that the son is his and try to help? He’s got the money, after all.

Father and son don’t have to fall into each other’s arms and have a life together, but surely some kind of financial situation could be arranged that would get the 29-year-old off the streets? At the very least. The thing is, I love Tom, who has always seemed so essentially decent, despite his wild, womanising past. Must I now recalibrate my affections?

What makes it worse is that, over the years, Tom has performed in aid of and donated to various charities and deserving causes, including Afghan refugees, Childline, the Prince’s Trust and, ironically, the homeless charity Shelter.

Judge Jan says charity begins at home, Tom. A man like you should look after your own flesh and blood, even if from a distance.

Do the right thing and, please, don’t continue to disappoint me. Bang, bang! Next!