Mr Abbott said he was surprised and disappointed

Health Minister Tony Abbott made news last month because the man he believed to be his son, Daniel O'Connor, had been working in the same building.

The two were reunited after Mr O'Connor contacted his birth mother, who said Mr Abbott was his father.

But DNA tests - carried out after another man came forward - have now shown there is no link between the two.

Mr Abbott, who is married with three daughters, said he was surprised and disappointed by the development.

"You don't live through these things for 27 years, you don't go through the excitement and the wonder of a reunion and then lose that and not be disappointed.

DANIEL O'CONNOR 1977: Kathy Donnelly gives birth to baby boy. She and her boyfriend, Tony Abbott, hand child to adoption agency 2004: Mother and son, Daniel O'Connor, reunited. She says Tony Abbott was the father Feb 2005: Tony Abbott says "flabbergasted" to be reunited March 2005: DNA tests show no biological link

"The whole time since Christmas has been a bit wild, frankly. To find the boy I thought I had all those years ago and to go through a reunion and now to lose him like this is pretty shocking and I feel a bit numb about it all," he said.

Mr Abbott said he regretted that Mr O'Connor had been "dragged through the public spotlight" as a result of his apparent connection with him.

Search

Daniel O'Connor began looking for his birth parents early last year, and made contact with his biological mother, well-known artist Kathy Donnelly, on Christmas Eve.

She phoned Mr Abbott to tell him she had found their son, and he met Daniel two days later.

Mr Abbott and Ms Donnelly last saw him in 1977 when the health minister was a 19-year-old student and Kathy Donnelly was his girlfriend.

Mr Abbott said he had placed Daniel for adoption because he "just wasn't ready for parenthood".

After they met, both men realised they had been working near to each other in parliament, where Mr O'Connor is a sound technician.