PM: 'Treat Absent Dads Like Drink Drivers'

David Cameron has launched a scathing attack on "runaway dads" saying men who abandon their families should be treated the same as drink drivers.

In an article to mark Father's Day the Prime Minister said it "simply isn't acceptable" for single mothers to be left to bring up their children on their own.

Where men were unwilling to face up to their family obligations, Mr Cameron said it was up to the rest of society to make clear that such behaviour was unacceptable.

"It's high time runaway dads were stigmatised, and the full force of shame was heaped upon them," he writes in The Sunday Telegraph

"They should be looked at like drink drivers, people who are beyond the pale.

"They need the message rammed home to them, from every part of our culture, that what they're doing is wrong - that leaving single mothers, who do a heroic job against all odds, to fend for themselves simply isn't acceptable."

Mr Cameron also indicated his determination to introduce tax breaks for married couples - a Tory general election pledge which appeared to have been dropped by the coalition in the face of Lib Dem opposition.

"I want us to recognise marriage in the tax system so as a country we show we value commitment."

He issued a strong defence of traditional family life - describing it as the "cornerstone of our society" and called for a new drive to "bring fathers back into the lives of all our children".

Even when parents were separated, he said, fathers had a duty to support "financially and emotionally" their children - spending time with them at weekends and taking an interest in their education.

Mr Cameron also described how he learned his values from his own father, Ian Cameron, who died last year aged 77.

"From my father, I learned about responsibility. Seeing him get up before the crack of dawn to go and do a hard day's work and not come back until late at night had a profound impact on me."

Sky News reporter Mark Stone said: "We know David Cameron places family life right at his core and sees them as very important indeed, but nonetheless the language he's using is quite punchy.

"How he thinks he can change the views of runaway dads isn't clear. I think he just wants to make it very plain what his views are."

He added: "It's not clear what other members of the coalition will think about these comments, but Mr Cameron is placing those family values right at the heart of his agenda today on Father's Day."