According to a Tory think tank, the Social Centre of Justice, London is the divorce capital of the world and judges need new laws to curb their super awards of divorce settlements, particularly in celebrity cases.

The news comes in the wake of Heather Mills and her £24.3 million settlement from ex-husband Paul McCartney and recent news that Guy Ritchie has hired Britain’s top children’s lawyer for his pending divorce case against Madonna.

The Centre for Social Justice was set up by Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and is appealing to Parliament to legislate so that judges are restricted in what they can award and how they can make decisions on access to children.

Mr Duncan Smith said: “There is so much leeway around what a judge will decide on. That allows huge territory for the legal profession to have a field day.”

He added that children were being used as pawns in a “hugely adversarial” process.

Hear, hear - but not just in the case of celebrities Mr Duncan Smith!

Clive Bellmore