HIV girl is 'seriously ill'

A three-year-old girl whose father is refusing to allow her to be treated for HIV was taken into custody when they flew into Heathrow today.

The girl, who is said to be "seriously ill", was taken to an unnamed London hospital where she is being examined by specialists. Her father was taken away by police but was not arrested.

Camden council care staff are trying to persuade the 39-year-old father, an alternative health practitioner, to agree to emergency treatment with powerful anti-retroviral drugs for his child, a course to which he has so far objected. But Camden officials say they are ready to go ahead without his permission if no agreement is reached.

The drama unfolded as the father and daughter stepped off their flight from Sydney at 7.45am. The man had fled Britain in 1999 after defying a High Court order to have his daughter tested for HIV. The girl's mother contracted the disease from a previous partner.

Last week the father, a Londoner, was told to return to England by a children's court in Sydney. He had disappeared with his daughter after the Department of Human Services in Victoria began moves to obtain guardianship of her.

Police found them in Sydney and the three-year-old was taken into emergency foster care for five days until travel arrangements could be made, after the father told the court he had decided to return to England.

The girl was four months old when her parents took her from England to evade the High Court order obtained by Camden. A judge had granted the council's application that the girl should be tested for HIV, citing " overwhelming evidence".

Her parents feared the next step would be for their daughter to be taken into care. Shortly before leaving for Australia, the father said: "This baby is loved and cared for beyond reproach. Camden council are acting in ignorance and fear." When the mother died from an Aids-related illness last October, the father hid from Australian authorities fearing deportation after overstaying his visitor's visa.

But on leaving, he said: "As far as I know, when we arrive in England, we are free. You can't keep persecuting individuals who haven't broken the law."

He said he was hoping to start a new life here, free from legal or medical intervention, and vowed to fight for his daughter "until I drop", adding: "I don't have anything else to live for except her."

A Camden spokesman said today: "The child's interests are first and foremost and we hope to be able to work with the father to ensure that she receives the care that she needs."

In an interview with the BBC, the father said he would continue to fight any attempt to force his daughter to undergo medical treatment.