Charlie Gard ‘captive of the state’

CHARLIE GARD is being held “captive” by the British state and the National Health Service, the family’s spokesman said yesterday.

The claim – made before a High Court hearing that will decide his future – will further stir controversy in a case that is already highly charged.

Charlie’s parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, were given until 2pm yesterday to file fresh evidence that experimental therapy being offered by hospitals in the US and in Italy could help to improve the quality of his life. Mr Justice Francis, who will hear the case at the High Court, has already ruled once that Charlie’s life support should be switched off to allow him to “die with dignity”.

In an interview with the US television channel Fox News, the family’s spokesman, Alasdair Seton-marsden, said: “Charlie is effectively being held as a captive. They … can’t even take him home to die and they cannot fly him to America. So literally, he is being held captive by effectively the British state and the national health system.”