The family of Alfie Evans have lost their final bid to preserve his life.
Tom Evans and Kate James took their son’s battle to the European Court of Human Rights after UK judges granted the right to turn off his life support.
Doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital were given permission to discontinue the Bootle toddler’s care at the High Court earlier this month.
Alfie’s parents attempted to stay the ruling but were also defeated when the case went to the Supreme Court as they aimed to take him to a Rome hospital for alternative treatment.
Three judges at the ECHR have now deemed their request ‘inadmissible’ and that the ruling was not in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
An ECHR spokesperson said: “The decision in the case was taken by a committee of three judges. The decision is final.
“The Court has also rejected a request for an interim measure made by the applicants under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court to stay the order of the domestic courts permitting the withdrawal of Alfie Evans’s treatment.
“The applicants are the parents of Alfie Evans, born on 9 May 2016, who has been on ventilation in hospital after becoming seriously ill with a catastrophic and untreatable, progressive, neurodegenerative condition.
“Both the request for an interim measure and the substantive application were received by the Court on 23 March 2018. The parties to the case have been notified of the Court’s decision.”