Elton John's fathering of a surrogate child by an American woman raises concerns, says the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester.

Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John is only 15 days old, but he has already provoked a pronouncement from one of the Church of England's most prominent prelates. Elton John's fathering of a son by an American surrogate mother with his civil partner, David Furnish, risks causing the child lasting psychological damage, claims the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester.

"I believe that surrogacy, inevitably, introduces a 'third' party to the legal parents," he tells Mandrake. "This will affect the welfare of the child, psychologically and in other ways."

The Rt Rev Nazir-Ali also draws attention to the age of Elton, who turns 64 in March 2011. "It is very important for a child's parents to be of an age that provides the child with a fair chance of being brought up by them without unnecessary disruption," he says.

"Although society must support single parents who, heroically, bring up children on their own, all the evidence shows that children are best brought up in the context of a stable marriage where they can relate to a mother and a father, so that they can develop healthy relationships with people of both genders."

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