The home of U.S. singer Madonna and film director husband Guy Ritchie is seen in central London October 17, 2006. David Banda, the one-year-old Malawian boy Madonna is seeking to adopt arrived in Britain on Tuesday, swapping the poverty of an African orphanage for the luxury of a superstar's London mansion.. Photo Credit: REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) - A one-year-old Malawian boy Madonna is seeking to adopt arrived in Britain on Tuesday, swapping the poverty of an African orphanage for the luxury of a superstar's London mansion.

But as David Banda flew into London with one of the U.S. singer's bodyguards and her personal assistant, rights groups and aid agencies voiced concern about the legality of the international celebrity adoption.

Malawian authorities waived local rules to grant Madonna and her British film director husband, Guy Ritchie, an interim adoption on Monday, prompting charges from human rights groups that the star used her status to bypass normal adoption rules.

According to media reports, the singer announced two months ago that she would donate $3 million to Malawi through the Raising Malawi charity.

Madonna, 48, is hoping to make David a brother to her nine-year-old daughter Lourdes, and her son, Rocco, who is five.

The 13-month-old baby, who was wearing a blue and orange baseball cap, was carried off the flight from Johannesburg by the female assistant who quickly covered his head with a grey coat to shield him from cameras.

Three armed police officers together with airport officials escorted the party through Heathrow's terminal one to the baggage hall. From there they were taken out of a back door to a silver Mercedes car which drove them away from the airport.

Just before 0700 GMT, a Reuters photographer saw the silver car, which had blacked-out windows, arriving at Madonna's central London home, where it sped into a rear garage.

EXEMPTION FOR MADONNA

Banda, who is leaving behind his father Yohane, will swap his home in a dilapidated orphanage near the Zambian border for a life of luxury in London with one of the world's most famous couples and their two children. The boy's mother died after she gave birth to him, according to media reports.

Malawian law bans adoptions by non-residents, but officials are granting an exemption to Madonna.

Paul Dimmick of the charity EveryChild told Reuters he was concerned that Madonna had been allowed to flout the law.

"These laws are in place for a reason -- to protect the child. It doesn't matter who it is, the law is paramount and the interests of the child are paramount," he said.

David Holmes, chief executive of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, said it would have been better if Banda had been able to be adopted in Malawi.

"In a perfect world, inter-country adoption would not exist," he told Britain's GMTV. "We would be able to invest in every country so that they could develop systems and services for children and families to stay in their countries."

The charity ActionAid said it welcomed any move which highlighted the problem of orphans in Malawi, but was not convinced Madonna's actions were right.

"Whilst Madonna's adoption of baby David Banda may make a difference to one child, ActionAid believes there are better ways to help," it said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Steve Mellor)