31 August 2014
Last updated at 15:05
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A video clip posted on YouTube showed Mr King explaining why they had travelled to Spain
Police have rejected criticism of their search for a five-year-old boy with a brain tumour removed from a UK hospital by his parents against medical advice.
Ashya King was found in Malaga on Saturday and his parents arrested, following an international search.
His father Brett King defended his actions in a video posted on YouTube, saying there had been a “ridiculous chaseâ€.
Hampshire Police said medical advice was that Ashya was in “grave dangerâ€.
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Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead: “We had to act on warningsâ€
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead said: “I make no apology for being as proactive as possible in trying to find him.â€
He added: “I’d much rather be standing here facing criticism over being proactive than do nothing and explain why a child has lost his life.â€
Southampton General Hospital said the family had been offered a second opinion over Ashya’s condition.
Following the discovery of the family, Ashya was taken to hospital in Malaga. He has since been moved from a high dependency to a lower dependency unit.
Extradition proceedings have begun against Mr King and his wife Naghemeh. However, Mr Shead said the couple had the option to appeal.
‘Very angry’
Ashya’s paternal grandmother, Patricia King, told the BBC she thought the five-year-old would be better off staying in Spain.
She said she was “very, very angry†at the way the investigation had been handled, saying: “It has been taken too far – much too far,†with Ashya now separated from his parents following their arrest.
Ms King, who lives in Southsea, said the experience had been “terrible†for Ashya’s parents.
In a video posted on YouTube, Mr King said the family were seeking a treatment Ashya had not been offered.
He said they wanted Ashya to have proton beam radiotherapy – a treatment that targets tumours directly – because they did not want him to be “pelted with radiationâ€.
Ashya is being treated in a Spanish hospital
Mr King said the couple had “pleaded†with Southampton General Hospital for Ashya to receive the treatment, but were told it would have “no benefit whatsoeverâ€.
Responding to the claims made in the video, a spokesman for the hospital said: “Our priority has always been Ashya’s welfare and we are delighted that he has been found.â€
“Throughout Ashya’s admission we have had conversations about the treatment options available to him and we had offered the family access to a second opinion, as well as assistance with organising treatment abroad,†he added.
The charity Cancer Research UK says proton beam treatment is only available on the NHS in the UK for eye conditions.
However, in some circumstances the NHS will pay for patients to go abroad for proton treatment.
What is proton beam therapy?
- It uses charged particles instead of X-rays to deliver radiotherapy for cancer patients
- The treatment allows high energy protons to be targeted directly at a tumour, reducing the dose to surrounding tissues and organs
- In general, it gives fewer side-effects compared to high energy X-ray treatments
- It can be used to treat spinal cord tumours, sarcomas near the spine or brain, prostate cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer and some children’s cancers
- In December 2011, the UK Department of Health said that proton therapy will be made available for patients in London and Manchester from 2018
Sources: NHS England, Cancer Research UK
Police officers from Hampshire are travelling to Spain to help with the investigation.
Mr Shead said the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was assisting the family.
The couple had travelled to Spain, where they own a property, in order to raise money for Ashya’s treatment elsewhere.
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