Alife Evans: European court rejects parents' bid to have case heard

The parents of a 22-month-old boy at the centre of a life-support treatment battle have lost a European court fight.

Tom Evans and Kate James, who are in their 20s and from Liverpool, wanted judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg to examine issues relating to the future of their son, Alfie Evans.

But ECHR judges on Wednesday rejected their bid.

A spokesman for the ECHR said judges had declared the application inadmissible and found no appearance of any human rights violation.

The couple had already run out of legal options in the UK.

A High Court judge has ruled that doctors at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool can stop treating Alfie, against the wishes of his parents.

That decision has been upheld by Court of Appeal judges and Supreme Court justices.

Alder Hey also released a statement which said:

"Today the European Court of Human Rights declared Alfie’s family’s application inadmissible, finding that there was no appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. This signals the end of a very difficult and protracted legal process.

We understand that this decision is very distressing for Alfie’s family. Our priority is now to work with them to agree the most appropriate palliative care plan and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this time."