LONDON: In a new twist to Michael Jackson’s complicated personal life, a British actor and a close friend of the late pop star has claimed that he is the biological father of Jackson’s 11-year-od daughter Paris.

Mark Lester (51), who became famous as a child star for playing Oliver Twist in a 1968 film version of Charles Dickens’s classic and now works as an osteopath, said that he was prepared to undergo a paternity test to prove his claim.

Mr. Lester’s claim in a British tabloid was backed by another of Jackson’s close friends, Uri Geller. He said Jackson himself had told him that Mr. Lester was the real father of Paris.

“I am not surprised, I knew it all along simply because Michael told me. As a close friend of Mark, I respect his own situation to reveal this information at this time,” he told Sky News.

Mr. Lester, who is godfather to Jackson’s three children, told the News of the World: “It was a gift to him, no money was paid, it was something I was honoured to do — he wanted children so badly.”

He claimed he had donated a sperm to Jackson and believed that Paris was his daughter as she bore a resemblance to his own daughter Harriet. 

He said he had decided to disclose this because he had “concerns about the welfare and upbringing of the children” now under the legal guardianship of Jackson’s mother, Katherine.

“There’s a contact issue. I dearly want to remain in contact with those kids and I feel now this is the only way that I can ensure that,” he said.
 

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