Charity calls for Madonna adoption rethink

Madonna should reconsider her plans to adopt a second African child, a children's charity has claimed.

The popstar is expected to fly out to Malawi next week after filing adoption papers for four-year-old Mercy James. The young girl had been living in an orphanage before being handed over to Madonna's team this week.

UK-based charity Save The Children has now suggested that the singer should consider other methods of support before going ahead with her plans.

Spokesman Dominic Nutt told the BBC's Newshour: "For the most part so-called orphans in poor countries tend to have family still available to them, if not actually a parent still living.

"It is vital, we say, that children should not be taken abroad to be looked after but should be cared for in their own environment by their own community, ideally by their own family, particularly their extended family."

Madonna adopted David Banda from Malawi in 2006 amid much controversy.

Nutt added: "The thing to do is to support the community, to support local agencies and charities who can look after the child so that the child is at least cared for in their community.

"You cannot literally take every poor child who may only have one parent living, or no parent living, across the world and transport them all into Kensington in London. It's not a solution."