to all GN's living in France 4 year old boy missing

Some of the 'facts' in your longer post Elegran are being contested by the family.

Lawyers are saying there were no real grounds for issuing the warrant for the parents' arrest. They were not breaking the law.

What the consultants may have 'imagined' the parents might do (in terms of dangerous treatments) is neither here nor there.

What we do know is that there was a complete breakdown in communication between the consultants and the family with threats being from the Consultants towards the family.

There is a huge body of opinion in this country that this case was mismanaged to an abysmal extent. If it wasn't, it can only benefit the hospital and the police if this is made clear.

Whatever happens, the child needs to be treated elsewhere now.

It would be interesting to know exact timescales of when each decision was made and how long it took to be communicated and acted on.

Each individual action in this sad case was justified in view of the circumstances at the moment decisions were made. Naturally the publicity has mostly been for the plight of the child and his parents, but

The hospital staff had a very sick patient and had offered to help get a second opinion. Standard procedure to warn the parents of all the dangers of treatment and give them their opinion of how likely it was that the treatment the parents were considering would be help in this case. They may also have thought that the parents were likely to try unconventional and dangerous therapies. (That is something that people at their wits end can be tempted into)

The parents were anxious about their very sick child, and did not believe that they would be allowed to take him elsewhere for treatment. They removed him from his hospital bed without warning and took him out of Britain. Understandable, but not sensible.

When the hospital was worried about his disappearance they informed the police. Standard procedure.

The police pulled out all the stops to search for a missing child. Standard procedure.

When the missing child was found, those who had removed him were detained. Standard procedure.

The child was admitted to a suitable hospital. Standard procedure.

Two people who may have been unlawfully taking a child out of the country faced arrest and possible charges. Standard procedure. If they HAD been strangers kidnapping a child, they could not have been held without arrest for more than a short length of time, and would then have vanished.

It was then decided not to charge them and to release them.

All this over the space of a couple of days. Decisions could not have been made without consultations and communications between various otganisations, which all take time. An enquiry may sift all the statements from those involved but finding somewhere to place the blame could be impossible.

I think there will be an enquiry.

We just need to know why, at the point when it became clear that the boy was being well cared for, the proceedings against the parents were not called off. Why it went too far.

Nelliemoser perhaps the parents didn't trust the UK hospital to not give him the radiation treatment they did not want him to have. I think they had lost all faith in them.

I read JessM's post of 8:33 as ironic - perhaps I am wrong. If so, apologies.
The irony being that all that would cost more than any treatment that the parents are seeking for their child.

I fully agree with Nelliemoser. There was nothing wrong with the initial reaction of the police who had to follow up on a case in which a child might be endangered. The fault, if any, lies with the CPS who made the decision to treat the parents as criminals.

Support for the post by Nelliemoser at 08.53.

Nelliemoser you may not feel an injustice has been done but many people do.

It would be fair to all concerned if an investigation took place and was then published.

Why would be want to avoid doing that?

Good morning JessM

I think any enquiry or investigation could be limited to the hospital and police here, though I am no expert on these matters.

I suspect questions are already being asked within these organisations anyway.

If the family decide to sue the hospital for damages, we will probably get some idea of what really happened.

Following through on this case, and other cases like it, is important in my view since it gives the individual some protection against unfair treatment by more powerful individuals or organisations. As a demonstration of this a black policewoman is reported in today's paper to have won a second case against the Metropolitan police. She had earlier been awarded damages for discrimination, after which the police had tried to smear her by devious methods.

Pettalus I do not feel an injustice has been done and I feel the hospital had no choice but to act to protect the welfare of a very sick child carted off across Europe in a car.

"Ashya King is taken from ward at Southampton General hospital, seven days after extensive surgery for an aggressive brain tumour.

They might have had a feeding machine but what about serious risk of cranial bleeds and swelling after brain surgery seven day previously the family were not in a position to deal with that.

I do wonder why, if as said on the news just now, they had been offered treatment at a proton beam centre in Prague they have dragged the poor little mite off to Spain. Why not leave him in hospital in the UK until a bed was available in Prague. He could have had a parent to look after him in the hospital and one to go to Spain to sell the property there, which had been an explanation of that journey.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/09/01/ashya-king-brain-cancer-parents_n_5748588.html

"A centre in the Czech Republic which offers proton therapy said it was willing to help Ashya if his doctors in Britain agree. The Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in Prague confirmed it was able to treat the boy immediately if he was eligible for therapy, with the cost of the treatment to be sorted out later."

How about a massive public enquiry involving not only the parents and the hospital but Hampshire police, the CPS, various British courts and judges, social services, probably more than one Spanish police force and a Spanish judge or two?

If there has been an injustice, that needs to be acknowledged.

It should be easy enough to hold an enquiry to find out what really happened. That would be both fair to all parties concerned and hopefully point the way to better practice in future similar circumstances.

Penstemmon

Precisely. I whole heartedly agree with you.

I am pleased that the parents and child are able to be together. That is the right situation.

However I think that the whole truth will not be known. We can all speculate on what we believe the truth is, based on our personal experiences, prejudice, gossip etc etc.

In the centre there is a very sick child with sad and desperate parents, concerned medics and police all trying to do what they think is the right thing for the boy.

I cheered when I heard that the authorities had seen sense and released the parents.
I hope the paparazzi will leave this poor family in peace.

POGS I'm pleased to hear that they have been released. The details about the Spanish judge were broadcast on this morning's television news about an hour and a half ago. Maybe things have changed or the journalists got it wrong (not unheard of after all).

They have left now.

news tonight

I heard on the new tonights that the family will be reunited at 10.00pm (Spanish time), this evening.

That's odd.

An hour ago on BBC news 24 they were talking to their son and he was asked if his parent's were free yet. He said yes, somebody was on the way to fetch them'.

I hope your wrong Absent or it is looking like a another issue to be dealt with.

The parents still have to wait until Thursday for a Spanish judge to confirm that there will be no prosecution and so free them from prison.

POGS I'm sorry if I misunderstood your post.

However, saying someone is media savvy is not always a compliment, especially in certain contexts. It was always a criticism when used about Princess Diana for instance. It implies lack of sincerity and a willingness to spin the truth for one's own ends.

I don't think the family deliberately withheld the info about their situation with feeding tubes etc. in order to manipulate the situation.

Petallus

POGS to say someone is 'very media savvy' these days is almost the same as saying they are artful, manipulative and lying, although I am sure that is not what you are saying.

If you were sure then you would have not felt a need to say it.

If I thought they were artful, manipulative or lying I would come right out with it and say so. Not everybody is media savvy or even computer savvy and I put myself in that bracket and that was my comparison, nothing more.

I still think things would have been sorted out quicker if the family had put their footage out earlier showing the food and battery charger , maybe told the grandmother, who must have been pulling her hair out with worry, or a relative they were OK and they could have informed the authorities the concern over the feeding of Ashya was not an issue. They are an intelligent family and it would have been obvious the hospital would contact the police and the police have a duty to then trace the family.

I agree with posts regarding the medical side of this case who are playing devils advocate and pointing out proton beam therapy may not be suitable and if you check the web you will see since 2008 - 2014 there have been more patients per year being sent abroad for treatment. Not brilliant but it is being dealt with over the coming years as stated. I also agree with those who say it was heavy handedly dealt with but only after the family was found, not prior to the families footage showing the charger and food supply, I truly believe there was a genuine concern for them.

I don't however understand why it has taken so long for the CPS to decide to drop the case and the whole thing from the time the family were found has been awful. I am pleased the parents have now been released and they are given the opportunity to seek treatment or find out if the treatment will indeed help Ashya.

" Mr Johnson, the Mayor of London, said: "It seems pretty obvious to me that the parents and the suffering child should be united and if they've got a plan to help cure their boy's illness then they should be supported in that. I've probably gone as far I can go, it sounds potty to me, frankly, but I don't know the details of the case.

"Every person's instinct will be that the parents have care of the child. somebody's going to have to do some very, very lengthy explaining about what the hell went on here."

Totally agree Boris. Ridiculous cock-up.

The same mindset as the people who jailed a woman for rescuing her father from a 'care' home where he was not being cared for.