THE father of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard interrupted a hearing about his son's care to shout “When are you going to start telling the truth?” at lawyers representing Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Chris Gard and his partner Connie Yates are preparing for another round in their fight to be allowed to take their 11-month-old son abroad for treatment.
The couple, who are in their 30s and come from Bedfont, west London, want a judge to rule that Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, should be allowed to undergo a therapy trial in the US.
Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where Charlie is being cared for, have said therapy proposed by a doctor in America is experimental and would not help. They say life-support treatment should stop.
Charlie’s parents asked European court judges in Strasbourg, France, to consider their claims after losing battles in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in London, but Strasbourg judges refused to intervene.
The couple have now asked a High Court judge in London to carry out a fresh analysis of their case.
Justice Francis, who in April ruled in favour of Great Ormond Street doctors and decided Charlie should be allowed to “die with dignity”, oversaw a preliminary hearing in the latest round of litigation yesterday.
He told the couple that he had already analysed the case at a trial and would not rake over old facts.
Lawyers representing Great Ormond Street and a guardian appointed to independently represent Charlie’s interests said they were struggling to find any new evidence.
Lawyers representing the couple suggested another judge should analyse any fresh evidence.
Justice Francis disagreed: ‘’I did my job. I will continue to do my job. If you bring new evidence to me and I consider that evidence changes the situation ... I will be the first to welcome that outcome.’’
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