The former Boomtown Rats singer and Live Aid hero won the right to have the children with him for most of the year after a three-day hearing at the Family Division of the High Court, in London.

Fifi Trixibelle, 15, Peaches Honeyblossom, nine, and Pixie, eight, will live with the 45-year-old during term time.

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During school holidays the children's time will be "divided equally" between the two parents, who both live in London.

The Official Solicitor's office, in central London, said following an appeal by the News Group organisation the Court of Appeal partially lifted reporting restrictions on the result of the hearing in June this year.

However, the grounds for the former singer, currently a presenter with radio station Xfm, now being granted primary custody of the children are confidential and cannot be revealed.

In a statement the Official Solicitor said arrangements by Miss Yates and her ex-husband may be varied by private agreements between them.

"Since the making of the order on June 16, Bob Geldof and Paula Yates have, following amicable discussions made certain variations.

"They have asked that the press do not enquire further into the arrangements for the children," a spokesman said.

The loss of the custody of her first three children is the latest upset in the life of the former Big Breakfast presenter.

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Miss Yates, 38, is also facing a possible custody battle over the future of Tiger Lily, her two-year-old daughter by rock star Michael Hutchence.

The INXS singer left Miss Yates devastated after he committed suicide in a hotel room in Sydney last year.

The child's grandfather Kell Hutchence has launched proceedings in Australia seeking sole custody of the couple's child after concerns over a new relationship Miss Yates began while being treated at a clinic for a nervous breakdown earlier this year.

She met Kingsley O'Keke, 26, during her stay but the pair broke up after a six-week romance. O'Keke later sold his story to a tabloid newspaper.

Last year she had to come to terms with the discovery that her biological father was Hughie Green, the creator and presenter of the television talent show Opportunity Knocks.

Until then she had always believed her father was Jess Yates, the Stars on Sunday presenter.

Mr Geldof, who has said in the past "I love my three children more than anything in the world," launched a campaign for the rights of divorced fathers in 1996.