KENT MP Ann Widdecombe MP helped bring two fathers’ rights campaigners back down to earth following a 30-hour protest high up on the walls of Westminster Abbey.

The MP for Maidstone and the Weald persuaded the pair, who were members of the protest group Real Fathers for Justice, to end their demonstration so a Good Friday service could take place inside the London cathedral.

The men, who were from the North East, scaled Westminster Abbey with a mock crucifix last Thursday claiming it was a symbol of fathers who were being "crucified" by the courts over access to their children. They also unveiled a banner saying: “Crucified by the state, ignored by the church.

Though police had made efforts to get them to end their action, the protestors spent a night on a balcony between 50ft and 60ft up the historic West Tower before Miss Widdecombe asked them to call it off at about 12 noon on Friday.

Laughing off suggestions she had talked them down, Miss Widdecombe said: “They were due to come down at 2pm anyway.

“The problem was that we had a big ecumenical Good Friday service going on, and the cross they had erected was fully visible to us as we were conducting this service.

“It was also pouring with rain, we had a lot of elderly people among us and we couldn’t go into the Abbey until they came down.”

Having spotted the protestors at the start of the service - a walk of witness which was due to move between churches - Father Michael Seed, a Roman Catholic priest who ministers to the Blairs among others, suggested that Miss Widdecombe act.

She followed a policeman up some stairs inside Westminster Abbey and stuck her head through a hatch to speak to the men.

“I said: “I have always been a tremendous supporter of your cause; I’ve made speeches and even written a novel about it. But really you are not doing yourself any good,” said Miss Widdecombe.

“We had a bit of an argument and they decided to come down immediately, so we got them down two hours early.

“They were very surprised to see me, but I think they were probably quite glad to have an excuse to come down.”

Real Fathers for Justice is a splinter group of the original Fathers 4 Justice group, which has disbanded.

The men had planned to dress as Romans for a crucifixion stunt on Good Friday, but police confiscated their costumes.

Miss Widdecombe said she did not support their tactics, adding: “I think it was ill-advised, but they have been ignored by church and state for a long time and I am very sympathetic to their cause.

“I didn’t much like having to climb up to meet them - they were quite high.”

Two men were arrested for aggravated trespass following the incident.