The mother of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee has spoken of the anxiety she feels ahead of a last-minute hearing about whether life-support treatment should be withdrawn from her son just hours before it is due to end. The Court of Appeal has granted a virtual hearing for 11am on Monday after the Government asked it to "urgently consider" a request from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to continue his treatment so the committee can examine his case.
The youngster is due to have his life support at the Royal London Hospital in east London ended at 2pm on Monday, following a lengthy legal battle in which a High Court judge ruled this to be in his best interests. The decision was later backed by the Court of Appeal and Archie's family 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.
A legal "stay" to prevent treatment being ended has also been put in place until 1pm on Monday. 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.
