Charlie Gard: 'Last precious moments' for parents with their son

Charlie Gard's parents are spending their "last precious moments" with their terminally ill son after ending their legal fight to take him to the US for treatment.

Lawyers said Chris Gard and Connie Yates want to spend the "maximum amount of time they have left with Charlie".

The couple ended the case after a US doctor told them it was now too late to treat Charlie's rare genetic condition.

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has not said when life support will end.

However, Mr Gard and Ms Yates, from Bedfont, west London, said Charlie would not reach his first birthday on 4 August.

In its statement to the High Court, the hospital said it was "increasingly surprised and disappointed" the US doctor, Professor c, "had not read Charlie's contemporaneous medical records or viewed Charlie's brain imaging or read all of the second opinions about Charlie's condition".

GOSH said Professor Hirano had not taken the opportunity to see Charlie until last week, despite being offered the chance to do so by the hospital in January.

Even though the professor gave written evidence at all the court cases, the hospital said it only emerged last week that he had not read the judge's ruling following the first High Court hearing in April.

The hospital added it was concerned to hear the professor state in the witness box at the High Court hearing on 13 July that he had a financial interest in some of the treatment he proposed prescribing for Charlie.

Charlie has encephalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. He has brain damage and cannot move his arms or legs.

His parents had asked Mr Justice Francis to rule that their son should be allowed to undergo a trial of nucleoside therapy in New York, a move opposed by London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, which argued it would be "futile".

The Family Division of the High Court heard on Monday that US neurologist Dr Michio Hirano was no longer willing to offer the experimental therapy after he had seen the results of a new MRI scan last week.

Speaking outside court, Mr Gard said: "We are now going to spend our last precious moments with our son Charlie, who unfortunately won't make his first birthday in just under two weeks' time.

"Mummy and Daddy love you so much Charlie, we always have and we always will and we are so sorry that we couldn't save you."

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