Archie Batterbee’s life support is set to be switched off this morning, pending a final attempt by his family to postpone the decision.
It comes after the 12-year-old from Southend in Essex was found unconscious with a ligature over his head after believing to have taken part in an online challenge back on 7 April 2022, and has been in a coma ever since without regaining consciousness.
Declared “brain-stem dead” by medical professionals, he is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions – including ventilation and drug treatments.
The High Court previously ruled that Archie’s treatment should come to an end and his life support should be switched off, and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision, before the Supreme Court denied extensions on several occasions.
But his parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, have refused to give up their fight.
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His parents claim that stopping treatment would be in breach of the UK’s obligations under Articles 10 and 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.
Archie Battersbee, 12, from Southend in Essex / Credit: Hollie Dance
Having been at the centre of a lengthy legal dispute over the last few months, the family’s appeal against the decision to end his treatment was refused by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, and Ms Dance said that her son’s treatment would end, unless an application was made to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by 9am.
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Archie’s life support will be withdrawn at 11am if an application is not submitted to the ECHR in time, Ms Dance confirmed.
The Supreme Court panel said on Tuesday in its ruling that, while they have “great sympathy with the plight of Archie’s devoted parents,” they believe there is “no prospect of any meaningful recovery”, adding that: “Even if life-sustaining treatment were to be maintained, Archie would die in the course of the next few weeks through organ failure and then heart failure.”
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“The panel reaches this conclusion with a heavy heart,” the ruling said.
Archie with his mother, Hollie Dance / Credit: Hollie Dance
Barts NHS Health Trust – which runs the Royal London Hospital in east London, where Archie is being treated – said it would continue to “work with the family to prepare for the withdrawal of treatment”, but speaking after the Supreme Court’s decision, Ms Dance said she would “fight to the bitter end”.
She felt the system to decide treatment options where there is a dispute between families and hospital trusts “needs reforming dramatically,” and she hopes they have “paved the way” for any other parents wanting to go up against a trust in this country and the justice system.
A government spokesperson said in response to the ongoing fight ahead of the final bid this morning to extend Archie’s treatment that “our thoughts are with Archie Battersbee’s family at this incredibly difficult time”.
“It is right that decisions about Archie’s treatment are taken by expert doctors and the courts.”
Featured Image – Hollie Dance
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Greater Manchester restaurant speaks out after being paid a visit by Nigel Farage
Daisy Jackson
A restaurant in Greater Manchester has issued a lengthy statement after it was paid a visit by Nigel Farage on his campaign trail.
Vault 2, a family-run business in Denton, has said that it’s been bombarded with negative messages since the Reform party leader was photographed inside the restaurant.
Farage had made appearances at a number of local businesses in Tameside, alongside the party’s candidate, Matt Goodwin.
Vault 2 stressed in its statement about Nigel Farage that it is ‘a restaurant, not a political platform’, adding: “We hold no prejudice toward anyone – regardless of political views, race, background, creed, or beliefs. Everyone is welcome through our doors, and anyone may privately hire our venue. That has always been the case and will remain so.”
The restaurant also clarified that it was not a hosted event that Farage attended, nor were they endorsing or supporting him by allowing him to ‘call in’.
Vault 2 added: “It is genuinely upsetting, after everything we have done – and continue to do – for this town, to receive accusations of favouritism or messages saying you’ll never visit us again based on this.”
The restaurant then said that it takes ‘no political stance, shows no favour, and aligns with no party’ – though critics have pointed out that its Facebook page had shared a Reform post just before making this statement.
Inside Vault 2 last yearFood at Vault 2Vault 2 has issued a statement about the Nigel Farage visit. Credit: The Manc
Vault 2 signed off its statement by saying: “Whether you vote left, right, centre, or not at all — you are welcome here. Food first. Hospitality always. Thank you x.”
One person commented on the post: “If your doors are open to fascists, then your doors are closed to their targets. I sincerely hope your business suffers for it.”
Another said: “How can you ‘create a welcoming space’ if you welcome people whose aim to create the exact opposite.”
And someone else said: “This would be more believable if you weren’t liking Reform posts on Facebook. If you take no political stance and align with no party, maybe don’t like posts about Goodwin from your business account. We see you.”
But several people showed support for Vault 2, with one writing: “Well said – shame on those sending negativity – the keyboard warriors need to take a break and disappear!”
Vault 2’s statement in full addressing the visit from Nigel Farage. Credit: Instagram @vault2_barandbistro
Ticket requests are now officially open for Harry Styles’ one-night-only Manchester gig
Emily Sergeant
The time has come – the ticket request system for Harry Styles’ one-night-only gig in Manchester is now live.
In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced on Wednesday evening after much speculation that Harry Styles would be making a return home to Manchester for a one-night-only ‘intimate’ gig at Co-op Live to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album next month.
Styles is set to share Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with the world on Friday 6 March – and it’s that very same night he’ll be taking to the stage in Manchester.
Although little is known about what to expect at the gig, the poster for the event does state that there’ll be a ‘special performance of the album’, so it seems fair to say that Manchester will be the first to hear the new set of songs in full live.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the tickets are only £20 per person.
But, of course, there is a bit of a catch, as this isn’t your regular online queuing up for tickets scenario, this is a ‘ticket request’ system instead.
So, like us – and literally every other fan in the vicinity of Greater Manchester and beyond this week – you’re probably wondering what a ‘ticket request’ system is… what does it look like? How does it work? Basically, what the heck is it? Well, we’ve done a bit of digging around to get to the bottom of it so you’re not left too much in the dark.
According to Ticketmaster’s website, if an artist is running a ticket request, they’ll invite fans to request tickets so you don’t have to compete in a first-come, first-served sale.
This means you can take your time to review the available options and request the right tickets for you.
All you need to do is tell Ticketmaster which shows you’re interested in, the type of ticket you want, and your payment details. Then, if the tickets you request can be fulfilled, your card will be charged and you’ll get emailed instructions to access them in the Ticketmaster App.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love it to be the case for everyone, submitting a request doesn’t guarantee you tickets – it really is just luck of the draw.
To request tickets, you’ll need to follow these three simple steps:
Select which shows you’re interested in and the type of ticket you want
Add your payment details
Harry Styles ticket requests are now live / Credit: Johnny Dufort (Publicity Picture)
Ticketmaster will then send you a summary email that details the tickets you’ve requested. Your card won’t be charged at this time, but they may charge a temporary £1 authorisation to your card to validate your request.
A maximum of two tickets per person can be requested, which has been set to allow for as many fans as possible to get tickets.
Now, here’s the crucial part – you will need to submit your request for tickets while the window is open until Sunday 8 February at 11pm GMT. After the request window closes, you’ll get a second email by 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February confirming whether or not your request has been fulfilled.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd August 2022 
