The first British baby genetically selected to be free of a breast cancer gene has been born, doctors announced yesterday.

Specialists from University College London spoke of their "absolute delight" at the birth and said the girl and her mother were in good health.

The baby grew from an embryo screened to ensure it did not contain the faulty BRCA1 gene, which passes the risk of breast cancer down generations. Any daughter born with the gene has a 50% to 85% chance of developing breast cancer.

Paul Serhal, medical director of the assisted conception unit at the University College Hospital, said: "This little girl will not face the spectre of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life.

"The parents will have been spared the risk of inflicting this disease on their daughter. The lasting legacy is the eradication of the transmission of this form of cancer that has blighted these families for generations."

In June the mother, then 27, told how she decided to undergo the screening process after seeing all of her husband's female relatives suffer the disease.

The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said at the time: "We felt that, if there was a possibility of eliminating this for our children, then that was a route we had to go down."

However, cancer charities said the birth raised "complex" issues and Sue Faber, a mother from Newton Mearns who had a double mastectomy after discovering she had inherited the BRCA1 gene, said her feelings about it were mixed.

Ms Faber, who has two sisters who also carry the gene, said: "I do not have any other siblings. If this science had been used then none of us would be here today."

She said having her breasts removed had not affected her life, but had reduced her chances of getting cancer.

Ms Faber, who raised more than £36,000 for breast cancer research in Glasgow by walking the West Highland Way with her sisters last year, had two sons before she knew she carried BRCA1. However, she said she would not use embryo screening if she were having children now.

She said: "You can not have the gene and still get breast cancer. There is no exact science to it."

Dr Sarah Cant, policy manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "The decision to screen embryos to see whether they have a faulty breast cancer gene is a complex and very personal issue.

"Women with a family history of breast cancer tell us that what might be right for one person may not be right for another.

"It's important for anyone affected to have appropriate information and support so they can make the right choice for them."

The technique, known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has already been used in the UK to free babies of inherited disorders such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease.

But breast cancer is different because it does not inevitably affect a child from birth and may or may not develop later in life. There is also a chance it can be cured, if caught early enough.

Permission to carry out PGD for breast cancer had to be obtained from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority by the London clinic that performed the procedure.

The body, which licenses IVF clinics and embryo research, gave the go-ahead after a public consultation.