Shattered Madonna met by Guy Ritchie on arrival in London

London, April 07: Pop superstar Madonna, who returned to Britain from Malawi empty handed after a judge turned down her plea to adopt four-year-old Mercy James, was met by her ex-husband.

As her private Gulfstream jet touched down at Luton airport, she was met by Guy Ritchie. The British director seemed delighted to be reunited with his children and climbed the stairs to the plane, as the couple`s adopted son David jumped into his arms for a hug. He and Madonna did not appear to speak to each other, but Ritchie has publicly supported the adoption of Mercy. The singer and her eldest daughter Lourdes, 12, were said to have fought back tears as they left Malawi without the child, Daily Mail reported. Madonna had told her lawyer to do whatever it takes to help her adopt the young girl. While the 50-year-old singer was said to be in pieces over leaving Mercy behind, reports from Malawi said that the child had started crying for Madonna and her children after being taken back to the orphanage. Judge Esme Chombo ruled last week that Madonna could not adopt Mercy as she had not met residency rules which require adoptive parents to live in Malawi for 18 to 24 months. The decision had come as a shock to Madonna who had earlier adopted David Banda from the same country in 2006.