Councils should ‘think long and hard’ before embarking on care proceedings against ‘otherwise unimpeachable’ parents disputing care packages for gravely ill children, a judge has warned.

Following a spate of complex court cases involving disputes over hospital and care treatments – including the high-profile Charlie Gard case last year – the President of the Family Division of the High Court, Sir James Munby, warned councils to more carefully consider their interventions.