A court case over Tripp, during which Mr Johnston may make damaging allegations about Mrs Palin, could hamper any hopes she harbours of running for the White House in 2012.

“I’m up to the point where I can’t see my kid again. I’m done. I’m sure we’ll end up in court,” Mr Johnston said in an interview with The Guardian today. “We’re definitely going to court. They started letting me see him and everything was fine. But everything got bad again. So I said screw them. Bristol listens to her mom. Sarah says something, Bristol is going to follow.”