No appeal on liver baby

There will be no petition to the House of Lords against a Court of Appeal judgment upholding a mother's right to allow her 18-month old son to die rather than undergo life-saving liver surgery, a spokesman for the Official Solicitor, who represents the child's interests, confirmed yesterday.

Last week, three judges overturned an order on the mother to bring her son back to Britain for treatment, ruling that decisions affecting the life of children lie with "devoted parents" to whom their care is "entrusted by nature".