A City businessman was sectioned yesterday after his two-year-old daughter was found at the family’s luxury riverside apartment with severe head injuries.

Alberto Izaga, 36, was arrested on Sunday morning after police were called to the £1 million flat by neighbours who had reported screaming.

The injured girl, believed to be called Yanire, was found at the apartment block, close to the Houses of Parliament. Last night she was critically ill in St Thomas’s Hospital, with her mother, Ligia, by her side.

Forensic scientists were examining the cordoned-off apartment yesterday while detectives from Scotland Yard’s child abuse team began their investigation.

Mr Izaga, who has not been charged, is the head of life and health products at the European insurance giant Swiss Re. The company’s headquarters are in the City of London tower nicknamed the Gherkin.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said that Mr Izaga was being detained at a London hospital under the Mental Health Act. No one else is being sought in connection with the attack.

“Police were called at 8.30am on Sunday to reports of a child injured at a residential premises in Albert Embankment,” the spokesman said.

“Police discovered a female child aged 2 suffering head injuries. She was taken to a South London hospital where her condition remains life threatening.”

A neighbour of the Izaga family, a middle-aged woman who asked not to be named, said: “I was absolutely horrified to hear what happened to that poor girl. How could anyone do such a thing? There has to be something seriously wrong with you to hurt a tiny child. I’m in shock — nothing like this has happened here before.”

She added: “I see her in her pushchair sometimes. She is a sweet little thing. She always smiles at me and says hello.”

Among the other residents in the block, where flats sell for up to £3 million, are well-known television presenters.

Malcolm Brownjohn, the general manager of the building, said: “I am deeply distressed to hear about this shocking and tragic incident. The security in this building is extremely tight, but unfortunately this sort of thing cannot be foreseen. We are fully cooperating with the police.”

It was suggested that Mr Izaga lost his temper when Yanire pestered him while he was in bed with his wife.

The Spanish-born insurance executive is well-regarded within the industry. Last year he was elected to the board of the Association of British Insurers after a successful career in financial services. Before joining Swiss Re, he spent nine years with the American-owned business conglomerate General Electric. He began working for Swiss Re a year ago after its acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions, where he had run the life and health businesses in Europe.

Mr Izaga has a degree in law and business from the University of Deusto in Bilbao. He joined GE in 1998 and worked at its corporate headquarters as a senior analyst, covering mergers and acquisitions, before becoming vice-president of business development.

In 2002, he was made chief executive of life and health for continental Europe. The following year he became president and chief executive of life and health, Europe — a position he held until the acquisition by Swiss Re.

Staff at Swiss Re were reluctant to comment. One colleague arriving at the company’s London headquarters would say only that he was astonished by the news: “He [Mr Izaga] is a good guy, one of the top guys at the firm.”

Swiss Re has an annual turnover of about £13 billion and operates in more than 30 countries. A spokesman said that the company was deeply shocked.

He added: “Swiss Re is deeply saddened by the tragedy involving the family of Alberto Izaga. Our thoughts are with the family. However, as this is a private matter it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

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