THE former Conservative Sports Minister, Mr Colin Moynihan, last night won the crucial round in his protracted campaign to succeed to the family peerage left vacant by his exotic half brother, Anthony, a fugitive from British justice who became a brothel keeper in the Philippines.
After a rare discussion of evidence concerning the rival claims of the alleged children of the 3rd Lord Moynihan, the Privileges Committee of the House of Lords ruled that a challenge made on behalf of Mr Moynihan's Philippines born nephew, Daniel Moynihan (6), had "not succeeded".
In the arcane language used in the Moses Room of the Palace of Westminster, it was concluded that Mr Moynihan (41) had "made out his claim".
The former MP, an Olympic silver medallist in 1980, was patted on the back by supporters after the first such hearing since Lord Ampthill's title was disputed in the late 1970s.
The committee's ruling, which would allow the ex MP for Lewisham East to enter the Lords as the 4th Baron Moynihan, is subject to confirmation by the full House of Lords and subsequently by Queen Elizabeth. But this is likely to be a formality.
The ruling ends five years of wrangling since Tony Moynihan died in Manila leaving two claimants, Daniel and Andrew (7) from among his five wives. Yesterday, the 20 strong committee, which includes four law lords, heard evidence - based on DNA tests - that Andrew, son of Editha, one of the dead peer's Filipina wives, was not the late Lord Moynihan's son. He had said as much during his lifetime, after the child was conceived with in vitro fertility treatment to counter his "very low sperm count", and had taken trouble to prove the point. "It is not possible genetically for Andrew to be related to the 3rd Lord Moynihan," the Attorney General, Sir Nicholas Lyell, said. But Daniel Moynihan, whom the 3rd baron did hope would succeed him, has been ruled to be the child of a bigamous 11 month marriage to another Filipina.
Mr Moynihan, who conducted his own case, said later: "Regrettably there were many unhappy chapters in Tony Moynihan's life. I believe that, hopefully, this will close some of the unanswered questions."
Tony Moynihan, a gossip page hero of the early 1960s, left Britain "on my solicitor's advice" in 1968 and was later described in court as the "evil genius" behind some West End frauds. He was later said to be involved in drugs as well as the sex industry in the Marcos Philippines - with which Britain had no extradition treaty.
The Ampthill case involved evidence of paternity dredged from reports of a lurid divorce case in the 1920s. In deciding whether or not the crucial marriage which decided the case had ever been consummated, it introduced a modern public to the periodphrase, "Hunnish practices" to describe events on a wedding night.