Indi Gregory 'ready to be moved within hours' after getting Italian citizenship

Indi Gregory's parents claim they are ready to move her to a hospital in Rome in a matter of hours in their bid to keep the baby alive – despite an ongoing legal battle in the UK.

The British justice system had ruled the eight-month-old would be removed from assisted breathing, but instead she will now be transferred to the Bambino Gesù Hospital, which has agreed to treat her illness. The Italian government recently intervened in Indi's case by granting her Italian citizenship.

That move came after Indi's parents - Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, who are in their 30s and from Ilkeston in Derbyshire - initially failed in their bid to move her to a Rome hospital. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni vowed to do what she could to "defend" Indi's life.

No issues relating to Italy were raised yesterday when Mr Justice Peel considered arguments about where Indi should be when specialists withdraw treatment at a private online hearing in the Family Division of the High Court. The judge, who is based in London, said he aimed to deliver a ruling later this week. Lawyers said options included a hospital, a hospice and Indi's home.

Indi and mother Claire Staniforth (GoFundMe)

Specialists treating Indi at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham said a hospital or hospice was a more appropriate setting for "extubation". They said she might be able to go home after extubation. The judge has already ruled that specialists treating Indi can lawfully limit treatment, after concluding that such a move would be in Indi's best interests.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Indi's parents have continued to fight for her treatment to continue. But they 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.

The couple are being supported by campaign group Christian Concern and its sister organisation, the Christian Legal Centre. Mr Justice Peel ruled that a move to Italy would not be in Indi's best interests and Court of Appeal judges backed that decision. Judges have heard that Indi, who was born on February 24, has mitochondrial disease - a genetic condition that saps energy.

Mum Claire Staniforth and dad Dean Gregory (Paul David Drabble)

Specialists say she is dying and bosses at the hospital asked for a ruling that doctors could lawfully limit treatment. Medics say the treatment Indi receives causes pain and is futile. Her parents disagree. Mr Justice Peel has considered evidence at private hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

He has allowed journalists to attend and said Indi could be identified in reports. Five years ago, a 23-month-old boy at the centre of another life-support treatment case was also granted Italian citizenship. Another High Court judge had earlier ruled that treatment withdrawal was in Alfie Evans' best interests.

Alfie's parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, who lived in Liverpool, said an Italian government representative wanted to intervene and asked Mr Justice Hayden to give them more time. They said there was an "international relations element" to the case. But lawyers representing hospital bosses responsible for Alfie's care said any granting of Italian citizenship made no difference.

They said there could be "no possible suggestion" that English courts did not have jurisdiction. A barrister who represented Alfie, and took instructions from a court-appointed guardian, agreed. Mr Justice Hayden dismissed Alfie's parents' "last-ditch appeal" and told a hearing: "Alfie is a British citizen; he is undoubtedly habitually resident in the UK. He falls, therefore, under the jurisdiction of the High Court." Alfie died a few days later after life-support treatment was withdrawn.