London: A DNA test will be performed to determine if a 13-year-old boy fathered a baby with his 15-year-old girlfriend, his spokesman said on Monday.
The test comes after a tabloid newspaper reported that other teenage boys have come forward claiming to be the father of the newborn baby girl.
Spokesperson Max Clifford said the parents of Alfie Patten, 13, said the tests would be done "as soon as possible" to determine paternity.
"He obviously believes he's the father," Clifford said. "I think that having read the News of the World yesterday, it would be prudent to have a DNA test."
The teenager's 15-year-old girlfriend, Chantelle, gave birth to the baby girl earlier this month in Eastbourne, 70 miles (110 km) southeast of London. The couple made headlines in Britain when Alfie, who looks much younger than 13, posed on the front page of the tabloid Sun newspaper with the baby.
The story sparked a debate in Britain about the way children are treated by their parents and society in general.
On Monday the Press Complaints Commission said it had launched an inquiry into alleged payments by The Sun and the People newspapers to Alfie's parents. The newspaper watchdog said media guidelines stated that children and their parents or guardians must not be paid for material about their welfare, unless it was in the public interest.
The Sun said in a statement that it will cooperate with the inquiry and believes the story is in the public interest. The People newspaper was not immediately available for comment.
The local council where the teenagers live said it would offer them support and that they will continue to be monitored by social workers to determine what help they might need.
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