Baby RB dies peacefully in his parents' arms

Baby RB, the severely disabled child whose father fought a High Court battle to prevent doctors turning off his life support, has been allowed to die, it was announced yesterday.

He died in his parents' arms on Friday after the father dropped his objections to a court ruling that withdrawing treatment was in the 13-month-old boy's best interests.

When they took his tube out, I was cuddling him. It was amazing to see him without it – it's the longest we had seen his face properly," said his mother.

"I've loved every second, every minute I've had with my son, and in my eyes he's still my perfect little boy," she told The Mail on Sunday.

Baby RB had congenital myasthenic syndrome, a rare condition that severely restricted his breathing and immobilised his muscles. But his brain functioned normally, leaving him trapped in a body he could not control and unable to show pain during the stressful treatments that kept him alive, medical experts said.

Doctors concluded he faced a "miserable, sad and pitiful existence" and his mother agreed he should be allowed to die.