Mary Portas: My brother is the biological father of my son

Fashion expert Mary Portas has revealed that her brother is the biological father of her son.

Portas' wife, Melanie Rickey, gave birth to the couple's son, named Horatio, in 2012 after undergoing IVF treatment.

At the time, the couple kept their sperm donor's identity anonymous but Portas has now disclosed that it was in fact her younger brother who helped her become a mother for third time.

Portas, 54, said Lawrence Newton, told her he would be "honoured" when she asked him to donate sperm for IVF treatment.

The "Queen of Shops" said she wanted her 52-year-old brother to help so she would have a genetic link to the child.

When Horatio was born, Portas said she texted her brother to tell him: "Your son's been born".

The child, now aged two, calls Portas “Mama”, Ms Rickey is “Mummy” and Mr Newton "Daddy", according to Portas.

“Lawrence was the first one there [with us] and he picked him up and it was just very emotional,” she said in an interview with The Times magazine.

“I said to him ‘Thank you’, and he said ‘It’s my pleasure’, and we just held each other. And now, when I look at Horatio, he is a complete mix of [Ms Rickey] and me.

“Of course, now I know that it could only ever have been Lawrence who was Horatio’s father.”

Portas said only close family and friends initially knew the identity of Horatio's father.

Her younger brother is currently living with the family before he emigrates to Bermuda.

Portas, who has two children with ex-husband Graham, and Rickey became one of the first couples in the UK to convert their civil partnership to a same-sex marriage last month.