Ashya's Parents Released From Custody

Ashya with his mother Naghemeh

The parents of Ashya King have been freed from custody in Madrid and are believed to be heading to Seville for a meeting with their lawyer.

Their release follows the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to drop the case against them.

It was welcomed by their oldest son Danny, who is in the coastal town of Malaga, where Ashya is being treated.

He said the family would try to get his parents, Brett and Naghemeh, to the five-year-old as "quickly as possible".

Mr King told Sky News he was not expecting his parents to be freed so quickly and was "shocked" when he heard the news.

"We have been waiting so long for this moment. I just want to thank everyone who spoke out in favour of my parents, especially Nick Clegg and David Cameron."

Another brother, Naveed, said on Facebook: "BREAKING NEWS: My parents are now free! SPREAD THE WORD! WOW THIS IS AMAZING! SO OVERJOYED! WOW!"

Danny said he visited Ashya at the Materno-Infantil hospital again today and he was "super-thrilled to have someone with him."

He did not understand what had happened to his family and would be delighted to see his parents again.  

Mr and Mrs King arrive at court in Spain

"He is very unhappy when I leave. There are just two guards there and they don't speak English," he said.

An international arrest warrant was issued after Mr and Mrs King took Ashya from Southampton General Hospital, where he was being treated for a brain tumour.

They were detained on Saturday near Malaga and taken to Madrid, where they were kept in separate jails, pending an extradition hearing.

Their release came after the CPS announced it was seeking to withdraw the arrest warrant and would be taking no further action against them.

In a statement the CPS said: "We are now in the process of communicating this decision to the Spanish Authorities so that they can be reunited with their son as soon as possible."

The move was welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said: "It's important this little boy gets treatment and the love of his family."

Earlier Mr Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg joined the mounting calls for Ashya to be reunited with his parents.

An online petition started by Ethan Dallas, 16, a friend of Ashya's brother Naveed, had attracted nearly 200,000 signatures at 5pm on Tuesday.

Mr and Mrs King, from Portsmouth, took Ashya out of the country so he could receive alternative proton beam therapy in the Czech capital Prague.

The petition on the family's behalf is delivered to Downing Street

They were apparently planning to sell their apartment near Malaga to pay for the treatment.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Government was proposing to fly a top oncologist to Spain to advise the family.

He said the NHS does offer proton beam therapy for children who need it and had funded 99 patients in the last year, but  added: "It is not always appropriate, it is not always safe."

A spokesman for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said it had been willing to support the family's wish to go to Prague for treatment, but "did not recommend it".

Ashya being cared for by his parents

After Ashya's tumour was "successfully" removed on July 24, Mr and Mrs King were told there was "likely to be no difference in survival between standard radiotherapy and proton radiotherapy and overall no proven significant benefit".

With the correct treatment, doctors believed Ashya's chances of survival were "very good" - between 70% and 80%.