Judge quotes Philip Larkin in child fight

A divorce judge quoted a famous lewd poem yesterday as he made a ruling in a family battle — saying: “They f*** you up, your mum and dad.”

Lord Justice Nicholas Wall used the words of English poet Philip Larkin to stress the devastating impact on children when couples keep warring after they split up.

The Appeal Court judge, dealing with a residence order, said he hoped he would give the mother and father a fright because they had both come “within a whisker” of losing their nine-year-old son.



As he ruled the boy could live with the mother, he said the parents had harmed him by their “ongoing mutual dislike and recriminations” for each other following the break-up.

The judge issued a statement overturning a decision by Luton County Court, Beds, at which custody of the boy had been given to his maternal grandparents.

Quoting poet Larkin’s 1971 work This Be The Verse, he said: “They f*** you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had, and add some extra, just for you.” He said: “These four lines give a clear warning to parents.”