17/10/2006

Madonna baby flown into UK

The Malawian baby that popstar Madonna is looking to adopt has arrived in Britain.

David Banda, who is 13-months-old, is understood to have flown to the UK with a bodyguard and a nanny on a private jet, which landed at Heathrow airport on Tuesday morning.

The child is reported to have been taken to the US star's home in London.

It is understood that Madonna and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, have been granted an interim adoption order, giving them temporary custody of David for 18 months, and the child was issued with a passport and visa enabling him to come to the UK.

A statement issued by the couple said: "This interim adoption grants David's new parents temporary custody for 18 months during which they will be evaluated by the courts of Malawi per tribal customs of the country."

The decision by the Malawi High Court has outraged a number of charities and human rights organisations, who have accused authorities of bending the rules, requiring potential adoptive parents to live in Malawi for at least a year in order to assess their ability to care for the child, because of Madonna's celebrity.

Earlier this year, the singer announced that she would donate $3 million dollars to help aid children in Malawi, which is one of the world's poorest countries.

(KMcA/SP)

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