Simon Cowell defends Miami holiday with baby

Simon Cowell has hit back at critics who blasted him for taking baby Eric on holiday to Miami when he was only 10 days old.

The music mogul and his girlfriend Lauren Silverman jetted to Florida for a beach holiday with Eric - who was born in New York on 14 February (14) - and his parenting skills were attacked by several critics.

However, The X Factor boss has now hit back, insisting he and Silverman are proud parents and would never put their son at risk.

He tells Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "I just want people to be clear that, yes, he has gone on a plane very early on, but the pediatrician in New York cleared him to travel. We would not have done it otherwise. We would never dream of putting him a risk.

"I know there will be photos where Eric looks like he is in the sun, or photos where he looks like there's a dog in his face, or it looks like we aren't being great parents - but that isn't the case. We are taking great care of him all the time."