Theresa May 'set for Charlie Gard showdown with Donald Trump' as White House requests meeting after PM denies world's offers to treat him
THERESA May is believed to be preparing for a showdown with Donald Trump over Charlie Gards fate when the leaders meet this week.
The pair will meet on Friday at the G20 summit in Hamburg, British officials confirmed after Trump tweeted that the US would be delighted to help little Charlie. Charlie Gards parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard released this heartbreaking photo.
Charlie pictured holding a passport – released by his parents as they attempted to sway the courts into letting him travel to the US.
A British official did not confirm what the meeting will be about, but the Daily Mail reports that Number 10 is preparing a detailed briefing for the PM on Charlies case in anticipation of likely questions from Trump.
The battle for Charlies life went global after judges ruled that his life support should be switched off last week.
On Monday, a US hospital offered to treat terminally ill Charlie Gard for free – just hours after President Donald Trump said he would be "delighted" to help the tot.
A spokesman for Charlies family said the White House has been in talks with the parents, the American doctor who wants to treat Charlie, Great Ormond Street Hospital, the UK Government and he Department of Health.
Boris Johnson told his Italian counterpart today that decisions on Charlie Gards treatment must be led by medical opinion, supported by the courts – and he cannot be moved to Italy.
This comes as the pair discussed the offer made by Romes Babino Gesu hospital to care for the desperately ill tot.
A court has backed doctors decision to switch off Charlie Gards life support.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano with Boris Johnson in April.
The pair talked over the lengthy legal battle involving his parents and doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital, during a phone call on Wednesday – after Theresa May backed the British medics currently taking care of him.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Italian Foreign Minister Alfano held a long-scheduled telephone call today to discuss a range of foreign policy issues.
They covered the UK proposal for EU citizens rights post-Brexit, migration, Afghanistan, and the upcoming Western Balkans conference being chaired by Italy. Minister Alfano also raised the case of Charlie Gard and the Popes recent offer of treatment in Italy.
The Foreign Secretary said this was a deeply tragic and complex case for all involved, and said it was right that decisions continued to be led by expert medical opinion, supported by the courts, in line with Charlies best interests.
Charlie Gards condition and his story so far Charlie Gard is in the "terminal stages" of a disease called mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, after both of his parents were unknowingly carrying the faulty gene.
Sufferers of the condition do not get energy to their muscles, kidneys and brain, and is typically fatal in infancy and early childhood.
The 10-month-old is said to be one of only 16 people to have ever had the condition and his desperate mum and dad have been unable to find a treatment in the UK for him.
They raised £1.3million to send him America for treatment but doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital said Charlie should be allowed to die in dignity and applied for permission to have his ventilator switched off.
The European Court of Human Rights' ruled the doctors decision would be upheld and his parents were not allowed to intervene in their child's case.
The family were given extra time to say goodbye before his life support is turned off. Now US President Donald Trump and the Pope have offered to help as Charlies Army vocalised their support for him all over the world.
British doctors say their hands are tied and they are unable to let the tot fly to Italy, so the Italian foreign minister called for crisis talks with Boris Johnson – who backed the doctors and courts decision.
Theresa May also confirmed she supports Great Ormond Street's decision not to let Charlie fly. Now she is set to speak with Trump about the childs fate later this week at the G20 summit in Hamburg, as his followers continue their support.
Doctors said their hands are tied as pressure grows for the child to be allowed to leave the hospital before his life support is switched off.
The Italian Foreign Minister told Italian newspaper Repubblica on Tuesday: Our ambassador has already spoken to the management of the Great Ormond Street Hospital and their answer was that their hands are tied by two judgements to be respected.
(Today) I will have a telephone conversation with my counterpart Boris Johnson and Ill talk with him. But now Mr Johnson and Mrs May have come out today to back Great Ormond Street Hospital in the debate.
However the PM stressed they would not ignore any offers of help.
When asked by MP Seema Malthora at PMQs whether there was "any room for discretion within the court rulings" for GOSH to allow Charlie to leave, the PM said: "I am confident that GOSH have and always will consider any offers of new information that has come forward for the wellbeing of a desperately ill child.
PM Theresa May says Great Ormond Street Hospital will consider any offers over the future of Charlie Gard.
Theresa May in Parliament today during Prime Ministers Question Time.
Boris Johnson has spoken with his Italian counterpart to give his backing to GOSH doctors.
She added: "It's an unimaginable position to be in. I fully understand and appreciate that any parent in this circumstances would want to do everything possible and explore every option for their seriously ill child.
"But I know no doctor wants to be in the terrible position where they have to make such heartbreaking decisions. The Vatican hospital and a top US specialist yesterday joined world leaders in an 11th-hour campaign to save Charlie.
Pope Francis spokesman, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said they would overcome British legal rulings - as Great Ormond Street Hospital delayed taking the tot off life support for a week so Charlies parents could say goodbye.
This Mornings Holly Willoughby sobs listening to distressed mums call during Charlie Gard inspired phone-in.
Pope Francis earlier this month - he has supported efforts to continue treating Charlie Gard. Rome's Bambino Gesu hospital said the stricken 10-month-old's mum contacted them after they pledged to help.
A world-leading specialist in New York offered his services while a Vatican-run centre known as the Pope's Hospital promised the terminally-ill tot refuge for as long as he needs it.
Last night Bambino Gesu president Mariella Enoc said: "Charlie's mother called us after hearing about our offer. She is a very determined woman and a very decisive woman who doesn't want to give up in the face of anything.
"Our medical director and our doctors are looking into what can be done but in our initial investigation we have been told by Great Ormond Street that for legal reasons he cannot be moved.
"Nevertheless we will continue speaking to the family and our team here will carry on studying the case to see what can be done.
Charlies parents have launched a campaign to give their son a final shot at life. "The only thing I will say and repeat is that we are ready to welcome the family and help them, as the Pope requested.
The Pope addressed the tragic situation in a tweet: To defend human life, above all when it is wounded by illness, is a duty of love that God entrusts to all.
The global boosts for Charlie's parents, postman Chris Gard and Connie Yates, came a day after US President Donald Trump said he wanted to help their 10-month-old son and Pope Francis voiced further support for the stricken child.
A family spokesman said: The White House has been in talks with the parents, the American doctor who wants to treat Charlie, GOSH, the UK Government and he Department of Health.
President Trump has a very good understanding of the whole case and he did not make an off the cuff tweet..
Connie said: The support from the Pope and the President has given us hope. They are traditional men who believe in the family.
They believe in our case and understand why we believe it is right to continue fighting so hard to save Charlie. Supporters of the tot - dubbed Charlies Army - have been fighting to keep him alive since the court rulings.
Charlie Gard supporters protest against various court decisions outside Buckingham Palace.
Now the US President has added his voice to the campaign to save Charlie. Yesterday a father whose son is being treated by an American specialist said: "This doctor in New York gave us hope, and Charlie Gard has hope too.
An Italian mum whose nine-year-old son was born with the same condition as Charlie revealed she is in touch with his family and urged them to "keep fighting".
American Art Estopinan said the top medic at the Columbia University Medical Centre defied other doctors who had warned him and wife Olga that their son would only live for two months.
His son, Art Jr, was diagnosed with the same rare genetic condition as Charlie soon after birth. The youngster is now six years old. But Art, from Baltimore, Maryland, said: "If we were in the UK, he would be dead today.".
Connie Yates and Chris Gard were dealt a heartbreaking blow when a court decided they would not be able to seek experimental treatment for Charlie in the US.
CAN ANYONE SAVE CHARLIE GARD? After Donald Trump offered his support to save desperately ill Charlie Gard pressure is mounting on Theresa May to make an intervention.
The US President would need her support to go over the European Court of Human Rights decision to take the boy off life support. Her official spokesman said: This is a very sensitive case.
I dont think it would be appropriate for me to talk about it here at this point other than to say our thoughts are with him and his family. The decision was made last week to switch off his life support.
White House officials revealed yesterday that a doctor and hospital in the country have offered their services - reportedly free of charge.
The president has not spoken with the Gard family himself but members of the administration have - with the help of UK government.
But Londons Great Ormond Street Hospital can turn off his life support at any point - having already given the family more time with their son than initially planned.
If the White House wants to help the ill youngster, it must do so before doctors decide to withdraw his care. On top of this, the family would face legal difficulties if they went against the European Courts rulings.
Sarah Jones, a medical negligence and human rights lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said nothing can be done to overturn the ruling.
She explained: "This is an absolutely heartbreaking case, but the highest courts in the UK and Europe have made a decision and that decision is binding, it cannot be overruled.
"Charlie's tragic case has prompted a huge outpouring of public sympathy and support, but despite everyone's good intentions nothing can influence or change the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights." As the time ticks away solicitors for the family are talking with British officials and the White house to try and work out what can be done.
The boys are believed to be among just 16 recorded cases of MDDS, which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.
Doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital say Charlie should be allowed to "die with dignity" because his condition has left him brain damaged and unable to breathe unaided.
President Trump risked a diplomatic row by declaring his support for Charlie, tweeting: "If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the UK and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.
The White House said yesterday that the President was "trying to be helpful", but his tweet may be seen as a challenge to UK and European judges who ruled sending Charlie to the US for experimental treatment would not be in his best interests.
Teacher Chiara Paolini told yesterday how she was contacted by Charlie's family after posting an emotion-charged appeal to EU judges on YouTube.
She described how her son Emanuele Campostrini had defied doctors who doubted he would live for a year. He is now nine. Chiara, from Viareggio near Pisa, told The Sun: "I often speak to Charlie's aunt, his dad's sister.
"They tell me Charlie's parents are always at his bedside. They cuddle him and give him affection, which is beautiful and bad at the same time because they know he has been condemned to death.
"What I would say to Charlie's parents is keep fighting. I have said this to his aunt as well, I know it must be difficult for them but they have the support of so many people across the world.
Pressure is growing on Theresa May to intervene in the case. COURT BIDS OVER CHARLIE'S parents have exhausted all their legal options. Last week the European Court of Human Rights rejected a final plea to intervene in the case.
Chris Gard and Connie Yates appealed to Strasbourg after losing battles in the High and Supreme Courts. They wanted Charlie to undergo a trial therapy in the US.
But specialists said it would not help. The court agreed, concluding further treatment would "continue to cause Charlie significant harm".
His parents argued Charlie was being "unlawfully deprived" of his liberty, contrary to human rights legislation. But ECHR judges said the application was "inadmissible" and that their decision was "final".
"He should not be allowed to die simply because the doctors and judges say so, he should be allowed to live and have a chance of life.
Celebrities including Michelle Keegan, Katie Price and Charlotte Crosby have joined the campaign to try to save little Charlie.
So far his parents Chris, 32, and Connie, 31, from Bedfont, West London, have raised more than £1. 3million from nearly 85,000 donors on their campaign website.
The Ministry of Justice said the court rulings in Charlie's case "were made by an independent judiciary" and could not be challenged.
SO, WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON IN THE ROW? DOCTORS and the courts say Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity — but his plight is attracting global support.
Are his parents right to keep fighting? YES - says Vicky Cliffe, whose son Leo has Williams syndrome HIS parents brought him into this world. They should be allowed to decide how he leaves.
I met Charlie in March when my 16-year-old son Leo was in the same care unit after surgery. To fight against medical professionals as his mum and dad have takes such strength.
There is not one parent in Great Ormond Street that begrudges their fight. They should be allowed to try whatever they can.
NO - says Ethics Professor Dominic Wilkinson, of Oxford University IT is important for Charlie's sake that his parents recognise the limits of what medicine can do.
The decision of weighing up the pros and cons is never an easy one but it is important to focus on patient comfort.
In Charlie's situation, the doctors looked carefully at how treatment could harm him, and feel that continuing treatment in intensive care is not best for him. The decision is in Charlie's best interest.
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