JENNIFER JANE, the 10-day-old daughter of Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah, died in her parents' arms last night, three days after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
Jennifer, who was born seven weeks prematurely on Dec 28, was the couple's only child.
Her death was announced by the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion in Edinburgh shortly after the 50-year-old Chancellor and his wife, 37, were driven away to their home at North Queensferry, about 20 miles from the city. Both looked pale and shocked.
A hospital spokesman said: "At 5.20pm today Jennifer Jane died peacefully in her parents' arms."
Mrs Brown's mother, Pauline Macaulay, and her stepfather, Patrick Vaughan, had spent 45 minutes with the couple earlier in the day. They looked strained as they left and made no comment.
Tony Blair, who was making a surprise visit to Afghanistan with his wife Cherie, said: "I feel so desperately sorry for Gordon and Sarah."
His voice faltering, he added: "I know how much Gordon was looking forward to being a father.
"I know how proud they both were of Jennifer Jane and I know what wonderful parents they would have been to her."
Jennifer weighed only 2lb 4oz when she was delivered by caesarean section at Forth Park Hospital, Kirkcaldy. At first, doctors thought she was doing well and that she would survive.
Her arrival delighted the normally unsmiling Chancellor, who said that politics suddenly seemed less important and declared her "the most beautiful baby in the world".
Jennifer was breathing unaided and seemed to be progressing when Mrs Brown left hospital on Thursday. But an ultrasound scan the next day showed that she had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.
She was transferred from Kirkcaldy to the specialist unit in Edinburgh. Mr and Mrs Brown had kept a vigil with her since. They spent the last three nights in a room for the parents of critically ill children next door to their daughter.
It is normal practice when all hope has gone for a baby to be taken out of his or her incubator and given to the parents in their room in a Moses basket. They would then be left alone.
Jennifer's death followed 11 days of wildly conflicting emotions for her parents.
Mr Brown had celebrated his daughter's birth over a bottle of champagne with his elder brother John, a public relations executive.
Mr and Mrs Brown had Jennifer baptised at the hospital on Sunday night, knowing that she had only a short time to live.
A Church of Scotland spokesman said that baptism was sometimes requested at a time of "crisis or difficulty". It could bring "immense strength to parents in a time of deep darkness".
Jennifer had been delivered early after a routine scan indicated a high heartbeat and low levels of amniotic fluid in the womb that could inhibit growth in the final seven weeks of pregnancy.
The 30-minute section went well and Mrs Brown gave birth at 12.16pm on Dec 28. Dr Tahir Mahmood, the consultant obstetrician who carried out the delivery, said the baby was "crying healthily".
She was treated with photo-therapy lamps for jaundice, which is common in premature babies, and fed through an intravenous drip. Mrs Brown was told that her daughter would have to stay at Forth Park until mid-February.
She looked close to tears when she left the hospital last week with her husband, holding a bunch of red roses.
Nigel Griffiths, a minister at the Department of Trade and Industry and a close friend of Mr Brown said: "This is a terrible tragedy for them. All of Gordon and Sarah's friends are deeply upset."
Among the many messages of condolence was one from Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader. He said that his thoughts and prayers were with Mr and Mrs Brown at such a "devastating" time.
