The parents of Indi Gregory are reportedly set to move their critically ill baby girl to an Italian hospital ‘in a matter of hours’.
Eight-month old Indi will be transferred to the Bambino Gesù Hospital, which has agreed to treat her illness, after the Italian government intervened and granted her citizenship.
Indi’s parents Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth wanted their daughter to be treated in Rome rather than stay in Britain where doctors were poised to end her life-saving treatment, but the High Court in London blocked the move.
However, the baby from Ilkeston in Derbyshire can now be transferred after an urgent cabinet meeting took place chaired by Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
Indi, who has mitochondrial disease, a genetic condition that saps energy, will be moved ‘in a matter of hours,’ according to The Mirror.
Indi Gregory’s parents have lost legal fights in London to continue treatment for their baby
Indi pictured at her christening alongside her parents Claire Staniforth and Dean Gregory
The Bambino Gesù Hospital had said it was ‘ready’ to accept Indi for treatment, with doctors and medical teams on standby.
Senator Antonella Zedda, for Ms Meloni’s Right-wing Brothers of Italy party, earlier said: ‘The government’s decision to grant Italian citizenship to little Indi Gregory, the eight-month-old British baby suffering from a serious mitochondrial pathology, fills our hearts and confirms the great sensitivity of the executive for the life and defence of the most fragile.
‘Now, as an Italian citizen, little Indi has the possibility of being transferred to Italy, where she is ready to be welcomed by the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome, which has already offered her availability.
‘This decision opens a glimmer of hope and is part of the tradition of great humanity that our nation boasts. Come on little Indi, all of Italy is rooting for you.’
A British High Court judge had previously ruled that doctors treating Indi at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham could lawfully limit treatment, after concluding that such a move would be in Indi’s best interests.
Her parents have failed to persuade Court of Appeal judges and judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, to overturn Mr Justice Peel’s treatment decision.
Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, who have been supported by the Christian Legal Centre, said the Italian hospital had agreed to treat their daughter and asked judges if she could be transferred, but this request was denied.
Indi can now be transferred to the hospital after an urgent cabinet meeting took place, chaired by Giorgia Meloni, to grant Indi Italian citizenship
Little Indi Gregory has mitochondrial disease, a condition that saps energy
A hospital in Rome has agreed to accept the eight-month-old girl to continue treatment
Indi was granted Italian citizenship under Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the 1992 law for citizenship and the ruling was posted on the Italian government website.
This allows the prime minister to grant citizenship to foreigners if the ‘interests of the state are concerned’. In this case it was granted as Italy prevents any form of euthanasia.
After the decision to grant citizenship was made, Mr Gregory said: ‘My heart fills up with joy that the Italians have given Claire and I hope and faith back in humanity.
‘The Italians have shown us care and loving support and I wish the UK authorities were the same.
‘I’m very proud to say Indi has Italian citizenship and I thank the Italian government and the Italian people from the bottom of my heart.’