Boris Johnson has weighed in on the Charlie Gard case after his Italian counterpart raised the topic while discussing foreign matters.

The Foreign Secretary told Italy's Foreign Minister, Angelino Alfano, it is "right that decisions continued to be led by expert medical opinion, supported by the courts" after the Vatican's paediatric hospital offered care to terminally-ill Charlie Gard .

Mr Johnson's counterpart raised the offer made by the president of the Bambino Gesu hospital in Rome, after Pope Francis called for Charlie's parents to be allowed to "accompany and treat their child until the end".

The pair discussed the case of Charlie, who has been at the centre of a lengthy legal battle involving his parents and doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), during a phonecall on Wednesday (July 5), the Foreign Office said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Italian Foreign Minister Alfano held a long-scheduled telephone call to discuss a range of foreign policy issues.

"They covered the UK proposal for EU citizens' rights post-Brexit, migration, Afghanistan, and the upcoming Western Balkans conference being chaired by Italy.

The spokesman added: "Minister Alfano also raised the case of Charlie Gard and the Pope's recent offer of treatment in Italy.

"The Foreign Secretary said this was a deeply tragic and complex case for all involved, and said it was right that decisions continued to be led by expert medical opinion, supported by the courts, in line with Charlie's best interests."

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