Staff at the Royal London Hospital showed "extraordinary compassion" during their care of Archie Battersbee, one of its bosses has said.

Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer at Barts Health NHS Trust, said its "heartfelt condolences" were with Archie's family after his death at the Whitechapel hospital on Saturday (August 6).

It followed weeks of court cases relating to his care, and his family have vowed to call for changes to the system faced by parents who do not want life-support treatment for their children to be removed.

Archie had been in a coma since being found unconscious at his Southend home in April.

Doctors at the Royal London, which is run by Barts Health, declared the 12-year-old “brain-stem dead” and his family unsuccessfully fought in the courts to have his life-support treatment continued.

Archie's parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee made bids to the High Court, Court of Appeal and European Court of Human Rights to have him transferred to a hospice to die, but these were rejected.

Barts Health said Archie’s condition was too unstable for a transfer and that moving him by ambulance to a different setting “would most likely hasten the premature deterioration the family wish to avoid, even with full intensive care equipment and staff on the journey”.

After Archie's death, Mr Chesser said: “The trust would like to thank the medical, nursing and support staff in the paediatric intensive care department who looked after Archie.

“They provided high quality care with extraordinary compassion over several months in often trying and distressing circumstances.

“This tragic case not only affected the family and his carers but touched the hearts of many across the country.”

Archie's family released their own statement through the Christian Legal Centre, which has been supporting the family’s case.

They said he had "fought against all the odds and we are so proud of him".

“We are thankful for the huge amount of support we’ve received from so many different people," the family said.

"We are grateful to our legal team and others who have stood with us as we have faced these difficult challenges.

“We want something good to come out of this tragedy."

Reporting by Press Association.