A Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for speaking out about suffering under the regime has arrived in the UK for treatment. Malala Yousafzai, 14, has been flown to Birmingham Airport and will be taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to receive specialist medical care. The teenager was shot on a bus in front of her friends last Tuesday in what Foreign Secretary William Hague described as a "barbaric attack". Her life was saved by neurosurgeons in a Pakistani military hospital and she has since been in intensive care. But doctors decided she needed "prolonged care" to help her recover from the physical and psychological effects of the attack. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has a trauma ward which treats British personnel wounded in Afghanistan. Mr Hague said: "Malala's bravery in standing up for the right of all young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all. Malala will now receive specialist medical care in an NHS hospital. Our thoughts remain with Malala and her family at this difficult time. "The public revulsion and condemnation of this cowardly attack shows that the people of Pakistan will not be beaten by terrorists. The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism." Malala was shot with two classmates as they made their way home from school in Swat, in the north west of Pakistan. The teenager has been transferred to the UK by an air ambulance arranged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Pakistani army said. In a statement, the Pakistani authorities said: "The panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury. All expenses including transportation of Malala by specially equipped air ambulance and treatment abroad will be borne by the government of Pakistan." A Downing Street spokeswoman said all transport, migration, medical, accommodation and subsistence costs for Malala and her party were being footed by the Pakistani government. Asked if she will be provided with guards at the hospital, the spokeswoman said: "You wouldn't expect me to talk about security matters in detail but certainly security has been taken into account." | 
