MR JUSTICE HEDLEY, 58, a deeply committed Anglican, is a reader at St Peter’s, Everton, a thriving evangelical church in Liverpool in an area designated as an urban priority by the Church of England. He is also Chancellor of the Diocese of Liverpool and chair of Shrewsbury House, a youth centre set up by Shrewsbury School a century ago to help inner-city youths. As a reader, he takes part in pastoral and educational work, evangelism and other forms of lay leadership. He can leads worship, including Morning and Evening Prayer, and take Communion to the sick and housebound.

In December last year the judge, who became a High Court judge three years ago, was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Liverpool for his contributions to family and child law and his local community in Liverpool.

As a judge, he has much experience of tackling tough decisions and is well-versed in ethical dilemmas. His Christian faith means he is likely to be personally sympathetic to the parents’ wishes to keep their child alive — but ultimately his decision must be based on law as shaped by other cases.

High-profile trials Mr Justice Hedley has handled include an attempt by an infertile man whose partner became pregnant after IVF treatment to be recognised as the child’s father in the eyes of the law.

He made a declaration of paternity on the basis that the man had signed the original consent form for the IVF treatment and the couple had been treated. His decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal but the House of Lords in April this year granted the man leave to challenge the appeal ruling.

Another trial involved a man cleared by a jury of killing his 20-month-old stepdaughter in a “shaken baby syndrome” case. The man was acquitted of both murder and manslaugther. The case then came before Mr Justice Hedley to decide whether his daughter should remain in care and how much contact she should have with her father.

The judge said no one would know what happened to the girl before she suffered fatal brain injuries but he was “quite satisfied” that the man’s action was culpable and that he should have realised it was potentially dangerous.

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