Alfie Evans air ambulance 'on standby to fly sick toddler to Italy' as family enters last-ditch court battle
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An air ambulance is on standby ready to fly Alfie Evans to Italy for treatment - as the sick toddler continues to "fight for his life", his family's legal team say.
A fresh hearing on Alfie's case is set to take place in Manchester this afternoon, more than 18 hours after his life support was reportedly withdrawn.
The 23-month-old's parents are to again ask a High Court judge to let their son travel to an Italian hospital, according to the Christian Legal Centre (CLC).
A barrister representing them "will argue that it cannot be in Alfie’s best interests to be left to die in Alder Hey Children's Hospital" in Liverpool.
"He will argue that Alfie should be allowed to travel to Italy where doctors are ready to care for him," a spokeswoman for the CLC said this afternoon.
(Image: Facebook)
(Image: Daily Mirror)
Alfie Evans: Live updates as toddler given legal lifeline with ANOTHER hearing '15 hours after life support switched off'
She added that an air ambulance is currently "waiting" near the hospital.
The CLC told Mirror Online an ambulance at Alder Hey would transport the little boy to the aircraft, should the judge permit him to fly abroad.
It comes after Alfie's dad, Tom Evans, said his son had been breathing unassisted and was "still alive" hours after his life support was 'turned off'.
Speaking to reporters outside hospital this morning, Tom, 21, claimed: "For nine hours Alfie's been breathing for now. He's still breathing now."
He added: "It's come to a point when his mum's actually asleep next to him so she can go to sleep, she feels comfortable with him."
(Image: AFP)
Shortly after, the father took to Facebook to confirm his son was "still alive" following more than 10 "horrendous", "scary" and "heartbreaking" hours.
Meanwhile, Alfie's mum, Kate James, wrote on the dedicated Alfies Army Official Facebook page that the toddler had been "allowed oxygen and water".
Sharing a picture of him being cuddled, she remarked: “How amazing is he... no matter what happens he has already proved these doctors wrong.
"How beautiful does he look.”
Mr Justice Hayden is scheduled to oversee today's hearing in the Family Division of the High Court, which was due to start at around 3.30pm.
The CLC, which is assisting Tom and Alfie's mum, Kate James, said the judge would be asked to allow medical experts in Italy to examine Alfie.
The spokeswoman said medics at Alder Hey had stopped providing "ventilation support" to Alfie last night - but that he "continued to breathe independently".
"Alfie has survived much longer than the doctors predicted, lending support to the request from Alfie's parents for Alfie to be seen by medical experts in Italy," she said.
The CLC claims "the court and the hospital should welcome the intervention of the Italian government and let Alfie travel to Italy".
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, linked to the CLC, said: “Alfie continues to fight for his life in an extraordinary way, as do his parents and our lawyers.
“We welcome the intervention of the Italian government and are grateful that they stand ready to take Alfie to Italy.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“A common sense approach must now be for Mr Justice Hayden to discharge all the court orders which detain Alfie and seek to end his life in Alder Hey, and give him the chance to be treated and looked after in Italy."
She added: “We urge the court to allow Alfie to travel to Italy today.”
Yesterday, Mr Justice Hayden had dismissed a "last-ditch appeal" by Tom and Kate, who have both desperately fought to keep their child alive.
The judge had said doctors at Alder Hey could stop providing life-support treatment to the toddler, who has a mystery brain condition.
Alfie's parents asked for a delay to give them time to mount a further challenge.
But the judge refused their application and gave doctors the go-ahead to stop treatment and bring the youngster's life to an end.
(Image: Daily Mirror)
Mr Justice Hayden analysed issues at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court late yesterday. The judge heard submissions from lawyers representing hospital bosses, Alfie's parents and the toddler via a telephone link.
Speaking outside Alder Hey earlier today, Tom said his son's life-support should be reinstated due to his remarkable progress.
"He is still working, he's doing as good as he can," he told reporters.
"But we do need him to be supported ... in the next hour it's going to be hard but we will need him to be supported in the next hour or two.
"Because he's been doing it for nine hours totally unexpected, the doctors are gobsmacked and I do believe he will need some form of life-support in the next couple of hours and I think he ought to be respected and given that."
(Image: Facebook)
Alfie's parents want treatment to continue and to fly him to a hospital in Rome.
His case has been highlighted by the Pope, who expressed support for the couple, and he has been granted Italian citizenship.
Tom and Kate have lost two rounds of High Court fights.
Judges have heard that Alfie, born in May 2016, is in a "semi-vegetative state" and has a degenerative, undiagnosed neurological condition.
Specialists say his brain has been "eroded".
In February, Mr Justice Hayden had ruled that doctors at Alder Hey could stop treating Alfie against the wishes of his parents following hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London and Liverpool.
(Image: Instagram)
Specialists at Alder Hey said life support treatment should stop, and Mr Justice Hayden said he accepted medical evidence which showed that further treatment was futile.
He also said flying Alfie to a foreign hospital would be wrong and pointless.
Court of Appeal judges upheld his decisions. Supreme Court justices and European Court of Human Rights judges refused to intervene.
The couple then argued Alfie was being wrongly "detained" at Alder Hey and made a habeas corpus application. Mr Justice Hayden dismissed that application.
Appeal judges upheld Mr Justice Hayden's decision.
On Friday, Supreme Court justices said they would not intervene.
Early yesterday, EHCR judges also refused to intervene.