Alfie Evans update: Candlelit vigils held at the Vatican for seriously ill toddler

People hold candles as they attend a prayer vigil for terminally ill toddler Alfie Evans at the Vatican
AP

Candlelit vigils in honour of Alfie Evans have been held at the Vatican after his father pledged to work alongside doctors to give the seriously ill boy “the dignity and comfort he needs”.

The Pope had been outspoken in his support of the child offered him support in Rome, but Court of Appeal judges rejected their plea for him to the flown out to Italy.

The vigils came as child’s dad, Tom, also asked to the family’s supporters to step aside and allow them to "form a relationship" with the Liverpool hospital staff treating his son.

There were also vigils in outside the British Embassy in Warsaw as Poles expressed their sympathy with the toddler, whose life-support machine was switched off on Monday.

Alfie Evans: The boy's life-support machine was switched off on Monday
PA

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Evans said he and Alfie's mother, Kate James, 20, hoped to have a "positive" meeting to discuss his son's care with medics in Liverpool after they previously failed in an 11th-hour attempt to take the 23-month-old to a foreign hospital for treatment.

He said there had been no deterioration in Alfie's condition since he was taken off a ventilator and he was not in pain.

He accused doctors of misdiagnosing his son and also vowed to return to court if the meeting did not go well.

But he later told reporters that in his son's interests he and Kate would now work together with his treatment team and praised Alder Hey staff for their "professionalism".

A vigil was held for terminally ill toddler Alfie Evans in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican
AP

In a statement, he said: "Our lives have been turned upside down by the intense focus on Alfie and his situation. Our little family along with Alder Hey has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like.

"We are very grateful and we appreciate all the support we have received from around the world, including from our Italian and Polish supporters, who have dedicated their time and support to our incredible fight. We would now ask you to return back to your everyday lives and allow myself, Kate and Alder Hey to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it.

"We also wish to thank Alder Hey staff at every level for their dignity and professionalism during what must be an incredibly difficult time for them too. Together we recognise the strains (that) recent events have put upon us all and we now wish for privacy for everyone concerned.

"In Alfie's interests we will work with his treating team on a plan that provides our boy with the dignity and comfort he needs."

Police remained outside the hospital on Thursday after Alder Hey said its staff had experienced "unprecedented personal abuse".

Alfie has been at the centre of a life-or-death treatment battle, with his parents trying to block doctors from withdrawing life support in a sometimes acrimonious six-month dispute which has seen a series of court battles.

Judges have heard that Alfie, born on May 9 2016, is in a "semi-vegetative state" and has a degenerative neurological condition that doctors had not definitively diagnosed.

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