A five-year-old girl who suffered devastating birth injuries was today awarded at least £4 million compensation and a public apology.

The child - identified only as “Baby B” - suffered acute brain damage, leading to cerebral palsy and paralysis, when her brain was starved of oxygen during her delivery at the William Harvey Hospital, in Ashford, Kent in April 2007.

Her parents, from Kent, were in London's High Court today as Judge Jeremy McMullen QC approved a compensation package designed to cover the heavy future costs of their daughter's care, also paying tribute to their “devoted care” over the years.

Her parents claimed damages from the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, which administered the William Harvey Hospital, alleging negligence in failing to arrange an emergency caesarean section in time to avoid disaster.

The Trust’s QC, Martin Porter, today publicly apologised to the family for the "shortfall in care”.

Christopher Johnstone QC - for Baby B - said her mother was initially cared for at the Canterbury Birthing Centre, but then transferred to the William Harvey Hospital due to concerns about “foetal monitoring”.

He said medics at the William Harvey should have reacted to worrying signs concerning the baby’s progress inside the womb, and rushed through the caesarean an hour earlier than in fact occurred.

Due to her brain injuries Baby B is now “profoundly disabled” and “cannot undertake any activity of daily living for herself”.

“She cannot talk but does respond to her environment and can use small switches,” the barrister continued, adding: “She has received the most dedicated care night and day from her parents”.

The case reached court as Baby B’s lawyers sought the judge’s approval for a settlement comprising a £1.6m lump sum, plus annual, index-linked and tax-free payments to cover the costs of her care throughout her life.

The annual payments will rise from £185,000-a-year to £270,000 when she is aged nine, giving Baby B a total compensation package worth over £4million. Tragically, Baby B’s life expectancy has been reduced by her disabilities.

The judge approved the pay-out, also wishing Baby B and her family good fortune in the future.

“This is the end of what has no doubt been a long and distressing process,” he concluded.