A judge has ruled that young Archie Battersbee's life support can be turned off, after his family lost a last-ditch attempt to keep him alive. The family of the schoolboy - who suffered a catastrophic brain injury - learned the fate of their son during an emergency Court of Appeal meeting this afternoon.
Judges rejected his parents' plea, but granted a short stay or delay until midday tomorrow. After that, his ventilator can be legally switched off.
The Mirror reports that Archie, 12, has been in a coma since April - following a tragic brain injury. Doctors treating the youngster at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, say that he is brain-stem dead and that continued life-support treatment is not in his best interests.
Read more: Judge rules that life support for 12-year-old Archie Battersbee should be switched off
This has sparked several desperate legal appeals by his separated parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee. Archie's life support system was scheduled to be switched off at 2pm today, but his parents were given a last-minute virtual hearing at 11am.
Representing the family, Edward Devereux QC argued during a virtual hearing this morning with the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, Lady Justice King, and Lord Justice Moylan that unless the withdrawal of his life-sustaining treatment is postponed, the court will be "complicit" in a "flagrant breach of international law".
Archie's parents applied to the UN as a final attempt to prevent their son's treatment from being stopped, with the committee contacting the Government on Friday. The Government's legal department then wrote an urgent letter on Sunday on behalf of Health Secretary Steve Barclay, asking the courts to urgently consider the committee's request.
A legal "stay" to prevent treatment from being ended has also been put in place until 1pm on Monday, with a decision from the Court of Appeal expected not long after this. Edward Devereux QC, acting for Archie's parents said the committee's request was "binding" under international law.
He asked the court to grant a stay to prevent the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment until after the committee has had time to consider Archie's case, but said he didn't know how long that would take. As an alternative, he asked the court to grant a stay within the next week to give time to seek more information from the committee as to the likely timescale for its decision.
He told the court: "What this court is considering now is whether it is going to be complicit in a flagrant breach of international law."
Mr Devereux also argued that it would be "wholly inappropriate" for the court to reach a decision without the Government being required to provide its views on the committee's request. However, Lady Justice King, one of the judges hearing the urgent application, said the Government has chosen not to intervene in the case.
Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, wrote to the family over the weekend to inform them it intends to end treatment on Monday afternoon. Claire Watson QC, for Archie's guardian - an independent adviser appointed to represent him - said there has been no change to the guardian's view that, in light of Archie's "parlous" condition, it is no longer in his best interests for treatment to continue.
Ms Watson also said, in written submissions, that there would be no breach of law by refusing the committee's request, adding: "The UN Committee's request to the UK Government to refrain from withdrawing life-preserving medical treatment is purely a request. The request is not enforceable and if not acceded to, the consequences for the state party would be criticism and moral censure by the UN committee, and potentially wider international criticism for frustrating the function of the committee."
Ms Dance said the family have had "no support whatsoever" from the NHS Trust, telling Sky News this morning: "Absolutely none. I know they come across to the media as supportive and compassionate. It's very much the opposite. It's very misleading."
Ms Dance said she was handed a letter on Saturday night with the "choreographed execution" of Archie. She said: "There was no meeting, sat down and broken to gently."
Ms Dance said they were handed the letter and "just left to deal with our own feelings". She added: "It's just caused so much stress. This could have been totally prevented and handled totally different to how it's been handled.
"We shouldn't have been dragged through the courts."
Ms Dance said the last couple of months has been "an emotional rollercoaster".
"It's been very draining. Stress levels are through the roof. Very heart-breaking. It's been a very hard few months."
Ahead of this morning's hearing, she said: "It's just left me feeling very anxious all weekend. I've carried a lot of anxiety here in my chest. It just feels awful."
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We recognise this is an exceptionally difficult time for Archie Battersbee's family and our thoughts are with them. The Government asked the High Court to urgently consider the request from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities."
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