A couple who say doctors should keep providing life-support treatment to their brain-damaged baby have called for a review of the law after losing another legal battle.

Karwan Ali, 35, and Shokhan Namiq, 28, had appealed after a High Court judge concluded that their son Midrar was brain stem dead and said doctors could lawfully stop treating him.

But three Court of Appeal judges dismissed their challenge and declared that Midrar died in October, when he would have been 14 days old.

A lawyer representing the couple, who live in Manchester, said they did not think that Midrar's condition was necessarily "irreversible" and wanted a law review.

He said the couple thought differing views of foreign experts relating to factors which confirm death should be taken into account.

Mr Ali described the appeal judges' decision as "terrible".

Mrs Justice Lieven had initially analysed evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester in January.

She concluded that Midrar was brain stem dead and ruled that life-support treatment could lawfully end.

Midrar's parents wanted treatment to continue and had asked appeal judges to overturn Mrs Justice Lieven's ruling.

Mr Ali said doctors could not be "100% sure" that Midrar was dead and wanted more tests.

He said Midrar was still growing.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, Lord Justice Patten and Lady Justice King analysed the case at a Court of Appeal hearing in London on Wednesday.

They upheld Mrs Justice Lieven's ruling and said medics could lawfully "cease to mechanically ventilate" Midrar.

Solicitor David Foster, who is based at law firm Barlow Robbins and represents Midrar's parents, said: "The family are disappointed at the decision of the Court of Appeal and are considering an appeal.

"They believe the law in this area should be reviewed and do not consider Midrar's condition is necessarily 'irreversible'."

He added: "They would like to have the court give weight to experts from outside the UK."

Judges heard that Midrar was born on September 18.

They were told he had been starved of oxygen due to complications at birth, had suffered brain damage and been placed on a ventilator.

Bosses at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester had asked Mrs Justice Lieven to rule that ventilation could lawfully be withdrawn but Midrar's father and mother objected.

Lawyers representing the hospital's governing trust, the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said three tests had confirmed brain stem death.

They said doctors had concluded that Midrar was brain stem dead in October.

Appeal judges accepted that evidence.

Sir Andrew, who is president of the Family Division of the High Court and the most senior family court judge in England and Wales, announced their decision at a further hearing on Friday.

He said evidence showed that "awfully" Midrar no longer had a "brain that is recognisable as such".

"There is no basis for contemplating that any further tests would result in a different outcome," he said.

"The factual and medical evidence before (Mrs Justice Lieven) was more than sufficient to justify her findings."

He added: "No other conclusion was open to Mrs Justice Lieven."