Is fat-cat father showing that you can buy love?

You know when your precious first-born starts to crawl? And you and your spouse kneel at opposite ends of the room and call the baby? To see who the child loves the most? Oh, you don’t. Did I say baby? I meant puppy. Whatever.

Fast forward a decade and the onset of the summer holidays has my husband and me competing to be the least-loved parent, and thus excused from swimming pool, park and library duties.

Nevertheless, I got a shiver when I heard about the four English children who are being sent back to live with their impoverished mother in Australia, despite voicing an unequivocal preference to stay with their wealthy father in Britain. The family lived Down Under until the parents separated. The kids came to visit him last Christmas and were keen to stay on, so they did.

The fact Daddy took them on a five-figure skiing break and a £38,000 trip to the Middle East might have helped sway their judgment, but despite interviewing the “delightful” children about their feelings, the judge overruled them.

Their mother has been desperate to secure their return, while scraping a living after her ex stopped sending £4,000 in child support every month.

But is the poor woman prepared for the emotional fallout? Hasn’t she suffered enough? Unless the father, who earns up to £300,000 a year, is compelled to contribute to their upkeep, then it’s going to be the most miserable transportation since 1788, when the first British convict ship landed at Botany Bay

Money can’t buy love, but nice treats will always inspire filial affection. A fat-cat father who fights dirty in a battle for custody doesn’t deserve either.