When he was 17 my husband got a girl into trouble and has been paying maintenance ever since. The CSA has now taken over, but he has recently discovered that the child’s birth certificate says father unknown. Does that mean he isn’t legally regarded as the father? He has no rights to see the child.
If your husband is the childs father he has a duty to pay maintenance: the fact that he is not named on the birth certificate is neither here nor there. Its quite common for fathers names to be absent. If your husband had registered the childs birth together with the mother, he would automatically have acquired parental responsibility. If he wants any say in the childs future at this stage he should seek legal advice.