'I'm not a bad dad': Lee Ryan slams accusations he hasn't been paying support to the mother of his love child
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The Blue songwriter has slammed the claims and has insisted he has been paying for his daughter and disputes between his family and Jessica's have meant that seeing his daughter has been difficult
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Mail Online
He has been gearing up for The Eurovision song contest with his fellow band members in the hope of returning to fame enjoyed before the band split in 2005.

But as Lee Ryan prepares for the launch of Blue’s latest single I Can he has been accused of failing to pay regular child maintenance to the mother of his first child.

Lee, 27, has denied claims he has left ex-partner Jessica Keevil to look after their daughter Bluebelle.

Bluebelle’s grandmother Jane Stowell has called Lee a ‘terrible dad’ and said: ‘Lee’s been a nightmare. Jess has had to battle to bring their daughter up all by herself,’ to The Sunday Mirror reported.

Jessica’s mother told the paper: ‘It’s as if his own child is an inconvenience to him. Every time we ask for help he ignores us.’

However the Blue songwriter has slammed the claims and has insisted he has been paying for his daughter and disputes between his family and Jessica's have meant that seeing his daughter has been difficult.

A spokesperson for the singer told told MailOnline: 'Lee has being paying constant regular maintenance to Jessica Keevil for the last year and a half, ever since he found out Bluebell was his child. In fact Lee transferred money into Jessica's account only last week. Any suggestion that he has not is complete fabrication.'

He added: 'In addition Lee held a birthday party for Bluebell's at his sister's house in June last year.With regards to access to Bluebell, there has been an ongoing dispute in 2011 between Lee's family and Jessica's family, which has made visitation rights awkward.

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'Lee takes his role as father of Bluebell very seriously and is saddened and upset that her family feel the need to make such statements in a public arena.'

Lee and Jessica met in a nightclub in Kent in 2007 and went on a number of dates before Jessica revealed she was expecting their child.

The singer broke off the relationship and began dating Samantha Miller who is now his fiancée and the mother of his second child Rayn, who is just months younger than his first child.

Bluebelle was born in 2008 but it was not until 2009 that Lee underwent a paternity test and accepted the child as his own.

Speaking of the news at the time, he said: 'I will definitely be a part of my daughter's life.'

However Jessica’s mother Janet of Rochester Kent has claimed that Ryan has only seen Bluebelle on a handful of occasions and has advised her daughter to go to the Child Support Agency.

She told the paper: ‘Everyone thinks Lee is a lovely, nice guy but we’ve seen nothing but an immature fool who doesn’t want to help his daughter.’

Lee has been out of the country for the past few months on a promotional tour with Blue who are set to perform next month in The Eurovision song contest.