Ashya King ’ s parents are in ‘ exile ’ in Spain because they fear their children will be taken into care if they return to the UK , his grandmother said last night . To the family ’ s great joy the five-year-old had been declared cancer-free following pioneering treatment . But , says the boy ’ s grandmother , the Kings are now ‘ desperate ’ to return home . Ashya King ’ s grandmother say his parents Brett , 51 , and Naghmeh , 46 , are now ‘ desperate ’ to return to the UK , but remain in Marbella , Spain because they fear their children will being taken into care . Ashya was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year . This was removed and doctors insisted that surgery was followed up by traditional chemotherapy and radiation therapy . But his parents Brett , 51 , and Naghmeh , 46 , wanted him to have cutting-edge proton beam therapy instead which is thought to be less harmful . Fearing that Ashya would be taken away from them and given the treatment , the family fled to Spain , where they had a holiday home , prompting an international manhunt . The parents were arrested in Spain and held in prison while Ashya was made a ward of court by Portsmouth council before a national outcry led to their release . Reunited , the family flew to Prague , where the boy had proton beam therapy . Last week , the family was told that he is now cancer-free . Ashya ’ s grandmother said last night that her son and his wife felt like ‘ exiles ’ in Spain but were powerless to return home for fear of their children being taken into care . Brett and Naghmeh King were locked up after taking their son out of an NHS hospital and going across Europe to seek pioneering proton therapy in the Czech Republic . ‘ They are worried about Ashya and the other children being taken away from them . That ’ s why they can ’ t come home . They ’ re exiles , ’ she said . ‘ They ’ re desperate to come back to England but they can ’ t because Brett can ’ t get assurances from the council that they won ’ t take the children away . They are worried about the council , social services – everyone . They are very unhappy in Spain . They want to get on with their lives – they don ’ t want to live in exile. ’ She said that they were living in rented accommodation after selling their flat near Marbella in Spain so they could pay for Ashya ’ s care . The family still have a house in Southsea , Hampshire , which they can return to if they feel safe enough to . Yesterday , it emerged that Ashya is now cancer-free after the private clinic in Prague where he was treated issued a report , according to the Sun . His father yesterday told the paper that he fears his son would not have survived had he been treated by the health service . ‘ It has justified everything we have gone through because things are working out for Ashya , ’ he said . ‘ If we had left Ashya with the NHS we don ’ t think he would have survived . We have saved his life. ’ The parents , who are Jehovah ’ s Witnesses , said that Ashya was starting to speak again , playing with his brothers and sister and playing Lego and computer games . He added : ‘ We ’ d like to think we have been vindicated but we will always have the doubters . However we know we did the right thing for Ashya . We acted out of love . We ’ d do the same again . We were arrested for child cruelty and neglect . But leaving Ashya in the NHS would have been far more cruel. ’ In an earlier interview , Ashya ’ s grandmother said : ‘ When they think it ’ s ok , they will come home . Ashya is having speech therapy and is coming along and doing well . They ’ re really pleased with him . ‘ They all want to come back . The older boys want to come back , Brett and Naghmeh want to come back , but it ’ s all up in the air at the moment . They ’ re all hoping it will resolve itself , but Brett has got to be absolutely certain that Ashya will not be taken into care. ’ Michael Lawther , Portsmouth City Council ’ s city solicitor , said : ‘ The wardship order has been discharged and the council is no longer involved in court proceedings . Therefore it ’ s not a council matter whether the King family return to the UK. ’ A spokesman said the family may have talked to the council but could not confirm this .
Ashya King's treatment for brain cancer abroad has been a success . Brett and Naghmeh King are living in 'exile ' in Spain , say family members . Score: 7