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A Muslim family has hit out after social services chose a white lesbian couple to adopt their young daughter, it emerged today.

The Somali family claim Harrow council in London told them there were "no Muslim adopters available at all".

They also say offers from four members of their extended family to care for the girl were rejected.

The three-year-old girl and her mother, who suffers from mental health issues and has already had two children taken into care, cannot be named for legal reasons.

A family member named Ibrahim told the Sunday Times they want the little girl to be brought up by a family who share their religious and ethnic background.

He claims four blood relatives on the mother's side were willing to adopt the toddler but were turned down.

The mother was reportedly told in a letter that the adoptive parents had been found and she was told to say goodbye to the girl at a meeting last Wednesday.

But the farewell was postponed when around 50 people protested outside the Harrow civic centre.

The council has since offered to review the case and asked the family to submit the names of alternative adopters by 4pm on Friday, the Sunday Times reported.

The family is being supported by the Victoria Climbié Foundation, which campaigns for better child protection.

Director Mor Dioum told the newspaper: "The family's issue in this case is not about the sexual orientation of these two individuals."

Leader of Harrow council, Susan Hall, said it is "always an ideal that a child could be matched with parents from a similar background and heritage".

But she added that "the reality is that the ultimate choice is governed by the kind of adoptive parents who are available."