The couple lost their son barely half-an-hour after his birth

Riley Paterson Croft died from asphyxia but failures in his care at Royal Free Trust in Hampstead, north London, led to his death, a coroner has ruled.

Ian Croft and Heather Patterson said the management was responsible "at the highest level" for their son's death.

The hospital has apologised to the parents and said it had taken steps to prevent a reoccurrence.

Riley died on 25 March 2005 after a difficult and lengthy labour.

Extreme pain

The hospital apologised "unreservedly" to his parents and said the two midwives who handled the case have since been given additional training.

But Mr Croft, 42, and Mrs Paterson, 43, who are both journalists with the BBC World Service, said they have referred the attending midwife, Ine Toby, to the Nursing and Midwifery Council to decide on whether she should be struck off the register.

The court heard that Mrs Patterson was in extreme pain during labour but repeated requests to call a doctor were rejected.

Mr Croft told the St Pancras Coroner's Court the staff asked him to monitor the baby's heart rate, which dropped three times.

"All of a sudden the room filled with doctors attending to the baby and at 8.28am they asked for permission to stop. Our baby was dead," he said.

He claimed the staff tried to bully him out of having a post-mortem examination.

Coroner Dr Andrew Reid ruled that Riley died of natural causes but medical staff's neglect contributed to it.

'Living through hell'

A statement from the hospital added: "Regular reviews of the maternity services are undertaken to ensure that any areas of concerns are identified and improvements implemented so that a high standard of care is offered at all times."

Following the verdict Mr Croft said: "We have lived through hell for two years.

"The night itself was the worst night of our lives and we have lived that night everyday. I see Riley's death in my head everyday."

Mrs Patterson said: "You always wonder if there is there is something different that we could have done that night.

"But today the jury has shown that there is nothing we could have done differently - it was neglect by those in the hospital who caused this tragedy."