Parents of critically ill baby Indi Gregory condemn ‘death sentence’ High Court hearing as her doctors urge judge to let seven month old die

• Indi’s father denounced medics for their ‘wrongly pessimistic and bleak’ picture 

The parents of gravely ill baby Indi Gregory condemned a ‘death sentence’ High Court hearing yesterday after her doctors urged a judge to let her die.

A specialist said death was the ‘best option’ for the stricken seven-month-old – who has mitochondrial disease, the same condition baby suffered by Charlie Gard who died in 2017.

But Indi’s father Dean Gregory denounced medics for their ‘wrongly pessimistic and bleak’ picture and begged Mr Justice Peel to give his child a chance at life.

Mr Gregory, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, had never been to London before the hearings to decide his daughter’s fate.

But he entered the High Court witness box and spoke calmly to respond to doctors who said Indi was in pain and it was kinder to let her die, saying he disagreed with their diagnosis.

A specialist said death was the ‘best option’ for the stricken seven-month-old – who has mitochondrial disease

Indi’s father Dean Gregory (pictured) denounced medics for their ‘wrongly pessimistic and bleak’

He and Indi’s mother, Claire Staniforth, 35, keep a vigil at her bedside at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where the little girl, who has a number of complications including heart problems, is being treated.

‘We are there every day,’ Mr Gregory, 37, told the judge. ‘If I thought she was in pain, I would not be here arguing.

‘You have only got one life. You have to go through a little bit of pain to carry on with that life.’

He went on: ‘She has proved everyone wrong. I think she needs more time.’

Outside court, Mr Gregory said the hearing was ‘like a death sentence’ after Indi’s doctor said there was no hope.

Last week the little girl was christened in her hospital bed, surrounded by her parents and her three older sisters. Pictured, baby Indi Gregory at her Christening. 

After her breathing tube was removed, he estimated she could die within minutes, but also that she might survive days

Outside court, Mr Gregory said the hearing was ‘like a death sentence’ after Indi’s doctor said there was no hope. Indi pictured with her parents Dean and Claire Staniforth

The specialist, who cannot be named, said in the witness box: ‘We feel very sad. She is a little girl we have tried to treat to the best of our abilities. The terrible reality is that she is dying.

‘The best option for her is to show compassion, and we would want to treat her humanely and carefully, to treat any distress that occurs and…allow her to make as many memories as possible with her family’.

After her breathing tube was removed, he estimated she could die within minutes, but also that she might survive days.

Mr Justice Peel has praised Indi’s parents as ‘dearly wanting to achieve the best they can for their daughter’.

Last week the little girl was christened in her hospital bed, surrounded by her parents and her three older sisters.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre which is supporting the family, said: ‘Life is the most precious gift we have. A truly compassionate society that cares for the most vulnerable in society just doesn’t do this.

‘It feels intolerable that Dean and his family are in this position. Indi Gregory should be given every chance to live, and her parents’ wishes must be respected and supported.’

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