Madonna's new child flown to London
20 June 2009 02:17pm
Madonna's new daughter has been flown to London, an airport employee and a source familiar with the pop star's adoption proceedings in Malawi has said.
The airport worker said three-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James flew out on a private jet, heading for London, with a stop in neighbouring South Africa.
The person familiar with the adoption said the little girl was due to arrive in London.
Malawi's highest court granted the adoption on June 12.
Mercy, the second child Madonna has adopted from Malawi, was reportedly accompanied on the flight by a nanny, a child nurse and a third aide.
The adoption decision on June 12 overturned a lower court ruling in April that Madonna had not spent enough time in Malawi to be given a child.
The high court said the first judge had imposed too narrow a definition of residency, and praised Madonna for her work with children in a poor country where half a million have lost a parent to Aids.
Madonna's Raising Malawi, a charity founded in 2006, helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's orphans.
Madonna adopted a son, David, from Malawi last year.
Children's welfare groups had expressed concern that rules meant to protect children were being bent because of Madonna's celebrity, and perhaps out of gratitude for what she has done for Malawi.
© The Press Association
