Finally forced to admit fatherhood

DNA tests have proved that the Hollywood playboy is the biological parent of little Damian. The results were disclosed yesterday morning at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

Ms Hurley, an actress and model, later issued a statement jointly with Mr Bing’s lawyers. It said: "Recently conducted tests have shown that Steve Bing is the biological father of Elizabeth Hurley’s son, Damian Charles Hurley."

The news comes after the flurry of claims and counter-claims following the birth of Damian whom Ms Hurley, 36, insists was fathered by Mr Bing during their 18-month relationship, which ended in November. Confirmation that Damian is Mr Bing’s son will not only make the boy eligible to a share of his fortune, which is based in New York property, but also about 450,000 a year in child support until he is at least 18, according to reports.

The announcement followed reports last week that Ms Hurley, who gave birth to Damian two months ago, no longer wanted to take part in DNA tests or pursue a claim for child support. However, this has not been confirmed.

When the pregnancy was announced, Mr Bing questioned whether he was the boy’s father and said the couple were not in an "exclusive relationship" when he was conceived.

However, Ms Hurley said she was "completely loyal and faithful" to her former boyfriend, whom she "loved enormously during the two years we were together".

When proceedings to resolve the paternity case were issued, Mr Bing’s spokesman said: "If it is proved that Mr Bing is Damian’s father, he would wish generously to support him and to be involved in his upbringing."

Ms Hurley began dating Mr Bing after meeting him in the US and she went public with the romance in October 2000 when the pair were pictured kissing at an Elton John concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

She had split from the actor Hugh Grant five months earlier after admitting that their 13-year relationship had become more like brother and sister than lovers.

But Mr Bing had a reputation as a playboy and had been romantically linked to a string of Hollywood leading ladies, including Sharon Stone and Farrah Fawcett. And after Ms Hurley, the former face of Este Lauder, put out a statement in November last year naming him as the father of her baby, he immediately rebutted her claim.

The news comes just days after the millionaire television producer was identified in court papers as the father of Kira Kerkorian. The four-year-old girl is the subject of a bitter paternity row between Kirk Kerkorian, one of California’s richest men, and his former wife, who has demanded 223,000 a month in maintenance.

Mr Kerkorian, who owns MGM film studios and a string of Las Vegas casinos, hired private detectives who matched DNA from the child with a strand of dental floss they found in Mr Bing’s dustbins, according to court papers.

The 84-year-old had become suspicious when he heard rumours that Mr Bing and his ex-wife, the former tennis player Lisa Bonder, had an affair around the time of Kira’s conception.

There have been conflicting reports over how much money Ms Hurley could claim from Mr Bing now that the paternity issue has been resolved.

Mr Bing, 35, the heir to a 400 million property empire, earns about 1.5 million a year and, under Californian law, he would have to pay up to 30 per cent of this in child maintenance. Ms Hurley may be entitled to as much as 40,000 a month. She originally said DNA tests would not be necessary, but Mr Bing had cast doubts on her claims that he fathered the child and threatened legal action, so she was left with no choice.

Ms Hurley has kept a relatively low profile since Damian’s birth on 4 April at the private Portland Hospital in central London. After leaving there she headed for Sir Elton John’s secluded mansion in Windsor.

Paternity testing relies on comparing a child’s DNA with that of its parents. If the patterns do not match, paternity can be excluded for certain. But if they do, the probability of paternity is 99 per cent or more. There are a number of ways of doing such a test, but it was not confirmed last night which type of test Ms Hurley and Mr Bing had opted for.

DNA can be analysed from blood samples taken by a doctor or nurse. But recent advances mean it is possible to use hair or saliva samples, a finger-prick blood test or material scraped from inside the cheek. And accurate results can be achieved by checking only the child and alleged father - so-called motherless testing.

Absentee fathers

MICK Jagger had a love child with the Brazilian model and actress Luciana Morad, 32. Lucas Maurice Jagger was born on 18 May 1999.

She met the Rolling Stone star, now Sir Mick, in 1998 when the band visited Brazil. They allegedly had sex in a kennel and had an affair for several months until Jerry Hall filed for divorce from Jagger.

* Boris Becker had a love child with Angela Ermakowa, a Russian woman living in London, in 1999. Anna Ermakowa was born in May 1999. Becker met Ms Ermakowa after an all-day drinking spree brought on by a defeat to Patrick Rafter at Wimbledon. The famous "five seconds of madness" occurred in a broom cupboard in a London restaurant. It was a one-off.

* The former Tory grandee Cecil Parkinson had an illegitimate daughter with his mistress and secretary, Sara Keays. The pregnancy caused a political outcry when it was announced in 1983. Flora Keays is now 18 and has recently revealed to the public how she feels about her father.

* The world champion racing driver Ayrton Senna had an illegitimate love child with the former Brazilian model Marcella Kraddo. Baby Victoria was born on 7 September 1993 after the couple rekindled their relationship which had begun in a So Paulo nightclub in 1985.

* In 1998, Paula Yates discovered she was the love child of ex-Opportunity Knocks host Hughie Green. Ms Yates was reputedly distraught when she found out she was not the daughter of Jess Yates, but the product of an affair between her mother, Helene Thornton, and Mr Green.