Ashya King's parents to face no action, says CPS

A picture posted on Facebook showed Ashya with his mother Naghemeh King

The parents of Ashya King will face no further action and should be reunited with their son, say prosecutors.

The Crown Prosecution Service's announcement came after Hampshire's chief constable described Ashya's situation as "not right".

Prosecutors went to the High Court to seek to withdraw the arrest warrant that enabled Spanish police to hold Brett and Naghemeh King in custody.

Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the moves to reunite the family.

In a tweet, Mr Cameron said: "I welcome the prosecution against #AshyaKing's parents being dropped.

"It's important this little boy gets treatment & the love of his family."

'Reunited soon'

The CPS confirmed in a statement that it was taking steps to withdraw the arrest warrant against Mr and Mrs King.

"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," it said.

Calls for Ashya's parents' release have grown since their arrest on Saturday.

They are currently being held in a prison on the outskirts of Madrid, while their five-year-old son is in hospital in Malaga, after they took him out of hospital in Southampton against medical advice, last Thursday.

The plan to withdraw the arrest warrant was made by prosecutors (CPS) at a hearing brought by Portsmouth City Council applying for a judge to make Ashya a ward of court.

'Secure Ashya's safety'

Ahead of the hearing, Hampshire's chief constable Andy Marsh said in a letter the arrest warrant was only applied for in order to assist the search for Ashya.

"Our intent was to secure his safety not to deny him family support at this particularly challenging time in his life," he wrote.

"Irrespective of what has happened, it is our view that Ashya needs both medical treatment and for his parents to be at his side."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg suggested earlier that the full force of the law had not been appropriate in this case.