Looking the business: Madonna on her own

Dressed in an elegant beige safari suit with her glossy hair tied back, the singer turned heads as she left Claridge's in London on Saturday night.

One onlooker said, "She looked very smart as she left the hotel, and seemed cheerful."

The businesslike attire was a far cry from the laid-back look the 48-yearold adopted a fortnight ago on a controversial visit to Malawi with son David Banda.

There she was happy to dress down in a T-shirt and sarong and let her wavy hair hang loose.

With husband Guy Ritchie out in the West End, Madonna cut a some-what lonely figure as she left the hotel after dining at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant.

The couple have spent a lot of time apart in recent weeks, sparking speculation that they may be feeling the strain of the intense media circus surrounding her Malawi trip.

Friends say Madonna is looking for a little girl to be a 'sister' to 18-month-old David, although her publicist has denied this.

But it has emerged she will be unable to adopt another child until legal difficulties with David are resolved.

Campaigners are already trying to block his adoption in court on the grounds it is illegal.

Dressed down : With David in Malawi