The half-sister of the late rock star Michael Hutchence has begun legal moves to seek custody of her orphaned niece, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, after the death of the child's mother, Paula Yates, an Australian newspaper has reported.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph said yesterday Ms Tina Hutchence and her mother, Ms Patricia Glassop, had consulted lawyers in London with a view to starting custody proceedings for the four-year-old who is currently being cared for by Ms Yates's ex-husband, Mr Bob Geldof.
"This is worth fighting for," Ms Hutchence said from her home in Burbank, California. "I will go as far and as long as it takes to win this battle for Tiger's sake. "I have brought up two beautiful children and for the last nine months have looked after a little Japanese boy since he was new-born," Ms Hutchence told the London Times.
She said she was the logical choice to care for Tiger Lily, even though she had an acrimonious relationship with Ms Yates and had not seen the child for more than two years.
"All I've seen for two years are magazine photos. I just hope we can put everything that has happened behind us and my parents can have a relationship with their granddaughter," she added.
Ms Yates (40) was found dead at her London home on Sunday morning by her daughter. Her Australian partner, the INXS star Hutchence, who was the father of Tiger Lily, was found hanged in a Sydney hotel room in November 1997.
Relations between Ms Yates and the Hutchence family had been strained ever since.
Ms Hutchence and her mother are about to publish a book on the rock star's death called Just a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence.
Ms Hutchence's father, Mr Kell Hutchence (68), who in 1998 launched an unsuccessful legal action to gain custody of his granddaughter, said he was unsure what the future held for Tiger Lily.
He ruled out seeking custody because of his age and ill health.
"My heart goes out to Tiger Lily," he told the Sydney Telegraph. "Questions have been raised about Tiger's future and all I can say is that she is in good hands at present . . . I will be talking to the various parties who have Tiger's future welfare at heart to see what arrangements will be made."
He told the London Times he believed Tiger Lily was in "good hands" being cared for by Bob Geldof. From his home in Australia he said: "I just want the best for Tiger and I think that the responsible parties will sit down and no doubt work out a plan for her future."
Police are waiting for results from post-mortem tests to try to establish exactly how Ms Yates died. An inquest into her death will be opened today at Westminster Coroners Court.