Archie Battersbee’s parents have lost a High Court bid to have him transferred to a hospice to die.

An hours-long High Court hearing took place yesterday, with the court in London sitting until late in the evening, after the 12-year-old's parents filed a last-ditch application over allowing them to move him to a hospice.

His mum Hollie Dance, from Southend, has vowed to “fight to the end” with the bid to have him transferred to die in a hospice “with dignity”.

However, the High Court has ruled Archie cannot be moved to a hospice to die.

Read more >>> Ruling expected today on whether Archie Battersbee can be moved to hospice to die

Mrs Justice Theis said: “Archie’s best interests must remain at the core of any conclusions reached by this court.

“When considering the wishes of the family, why those wishes are held, the facilities at the hospice, what Archie is likely to have wanted, … the risks involved in a transfer … and the increasing fragility of his medical condition, I am satisfied that when looking at the balancing exercise again his best interests remain as set out (in the ruling of July 15), that he should remain at the hospital when treatment is withdrawn.”

The judge also refused permission to appeal against her ruling, after lawyers for the family requested it.

The family may now pursue a challenge directly with the Court of Appeal, and Mrs Justice Theis granted a stay on the withdrawal of treatment until 2pm today (August 5) to allow time for an appeal to be lodged.

Read more >>> Archie Battersbee’s parents lose European Court of Human Rights bid

Mrs Justice Theis concluded her judgment by saying: “I return to where I started, recognising the enormity of what lays ahead for Archie’s parents and the family.

“Their unconditional love and dedication to Archie is a golden thread that runs through this case.

“I hope now Archie can be afforded the opportunity for him to die in peaceful circumstances, with the family who meant so much to him as he clearly does to them.”

Doctors treating the schoolboy for the last four months declared Archie to be “brain-stem dead”, prompting a lengthy legal battle by his family to continue his life support treatment in the hope he would recover.

The child has been in a coma since he was found unconscious at his home in Southend, on April 7 and is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.

Ms Dance has said she wanted her son to “spend his last moments” together with family privately, complaining of a lack of privacy at the hospital.

Barts Health NHS Trust has said Archie’s condition is too unstable for a transfer and that moving him by ambulance to a different setting “would most likely hasten the premature deterioration the family wish to avoid, even with full intensive care equipment and staff on the journey”.