A mother and her partner, accused of starving her seven-year-old daughter to death, admitted the girl's manslaughter today.

Angela Gordon's daughter Khyra Ishtaq died in May 2008 after being taken to hospital from the her home in Handsworth, Birmingham, in an emaciated condition.

Gordon, 35, and her partner Junaid Abuhamza, 30, both entered guilty pleas to a charge of manslaughter at their trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Abuhamza's plea was accepted by the prosecution but Gordon's was rejected and she remains on trial for murder, the Press Association reported.

"In the case of Junaid Abuhamza, the Crown has come to the decision not to proceed further because in the light of the medical evidence as to his mental health that has emerged during this trial, we no longer seek a verdict in this case," said prosecutor Timothy Raggatt.

"As far as Angela Gordon is concerned, the matters remain for the jury's ultimate decision."

Raggatt told the court that Ishtaq was so emaciated at the time of her death that her condition was outside the experience of medical professionals. She died after succumbing to an infection.

"The infection that brought about Khyra's death was one that was caused, and wholly caused, as a result of one thing -- for months, quite literally months, she had been starved," he said.

Last week, Abuhamza told jurors he blamed himself for the girl's death and felt "like a failure".

"With all that was going on in the house, I couldn't see what was going on in front of me," he said.

Five other children, who were also in the couple's care, were also starved, according to the prosecution.

Gordon denies five counts of child cruelty while Abuhamza pleaded guilty to five cruelty charges at an earlier hearing. He will be sentenced at the end of the trial.