In her parents' arms, Jennifer finally loses her struggle for life

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The 10-day-old daughter of the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, and his wife, Sarah, died last night in her parents' arms.

The couple, visibly distressed, were driven away from the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion in Edinburgh 40 minutes after Jennifer Jane died. Fears had been mounting for her well-being since she was transferred to the specialist unit on Friday after a routine brain scan detected "cause for concern".

Her condition was such that the Browns had her baptised in the hospital's neo-natal unit on Sunday. Born on 28 December to the obvious delight of the Chancellor, Jennifer was seven weeks premature and weighed only 2lb 4oz at the Forth Park Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

Last night a statement for the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh said simply: "At 5.20pm today, Jennifer Jane died peacefully in her parents' arms." A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister, who was in Afghanistan, had been informed of her death.

Jennifer was born by an emergency Caesarean section on doctor's advice after she was found to be suffering from intra-uterine growth restriction, a condition that occurs in 10 per cent of pregnancies and causes the child to have an irregular heart rate.

She was put in an incubator with an oxygen mask immediately after the birth. But until the end of last week doctors seemed happy with the baby's progress. She was said to have been breathing independently and tolerating small amounts of food.

On Thursday, the day before Jennifer suffered the cerebral haemorrhage, Mrs Brown had left the Forth Park Hospital and it had been expected that her daughter would be allowed home in a few weeks. But on discovering the brain haemorrhage, doctors had her transferred to the Edinburgh unit, where the Chancellor and his wife had stayed at the baby's bedside. On Sunday, the Browns, who married in August 2000, said in a statement that their daughter's condition had deteriorated.

Yesterday morning they were joined at the hospital for about 40 minutes by Mrs Brown's mother, Pauline, and stepfather, Patrick Vaughan. They appeared tired and drawn as they went in through the main entrance with other family members, who were carrying flowers. When they left, shortly before 9.45am, the couple looked sad and made no comment.

Speaking after the birth, the Chancellor had beamed with pride as he described the "overwhelming" experience of parenthood. "I know every father says his baby daughter is the most beautiful in the world, but she is, and we are so delighted," he said.

The baby was named Jennifer, because they thought it suited her, and Jane, which is Mrs Brown's middle name.