Charlie Gard's father in court outburst after scan results revealed

Charlie Gard’s father shouted “evil” after a lawyer representing Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) said a new scan on the terminally ill boy made for “sad reading”.

Charlie’s parents were hoping the scan would support their case that, contrary to what doctors at the hospital say, their son is not brain damaged and would be receptive to experimental treatment in the US.

But on Friday, Katie Gollop QC told the high court in London – where the latest round of the protracted legal battle between Charlie’s parents and Gosh is taking place – that the results were not positive for the 11-month-old. That prompted an outburst from his father, Chris Gard, while his mother, Connie Yates, burst into tears. Yates told Mr Justice Francis that they had not yet seen the report.

Gollop, who is acting for the hospital, subsequently apologised, telling the judge: “Almost all the medical evidence in this case makes for sad reading. I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to cause distress.”

The barrister Grant Armstrong, who represents the couple, said Gollop should not have broken the news about the scan before Charlie’s parents had read the report.

The scan, the first to be conducted since March, was carried out last weekend amid a dispute between Gosh and Charlie’s parents over whether the ailing baby has irreversible brain damage. Last week, Michio Hirano, a US professor of neurology who believes the experimental treatment could benefit Charlie, told the court that the previous scan showed “no evidence” of irreversible brain damage.

It is unclear whether Hirano agrees with Gosh’s assessment of the new scans. He assessed Charlie in person for the first time this week after a request for him to fly over, and then held meetings with the hospital’s doctors. Hirano is expected to give evidence next week.

The outburst is not the first by Gard during a case that has provoked much emotion. Last week, he shouted at Gollop: “When are you going to stop lying?” The next day, he and Yates walked out of court after a disagreement with the judge, before returning later in the day.

In April, Francis granted Gosh permission from the courts to turn off Charlie’s life-support systems. The hospital says that his condition is irreversible and that further treatment could cause him suffering. The decision was upheld by the UK’s appellate courts and the European court of human rights.

But the case came back to the high court last week after Charlie’s parents claimed to have new evidence, via Hirano and other experts, that the chances of the treatment bringing about significant improvement in Charlie were higher than previously believed.

Gard and Yates have been at odds with hospital staff on a number of issues relating to Charlie’s health. Gosh doctors have said that his head circumference has not grown, which would be evidence of brain damage. But Yates claims she did the measurement herself and found it to be 2cm greater than the hospital record.

The hearing continues.