FEELINGS are clearly running very high over the case of Ashya King, the five-year-old boy who was taken from hospital by his parents.

But before we all rush to condemn the police for being “heavy-handed”, we should put their position in context.

They were acting in response to unequivocal medical advice that Ashya was in “grave danger”. They had no idea where the child was and what level of care he was receiving.

So what were the police to do, other than issue an international arrest warrant?

We now know, of course, that this is an extremely complicated case, but there is a growing feeling that Ashya has been well cared for by his parents who were driven by love and the natural parental desire to do the very best for your children. It now looks that they planned the move so that Ashya’s needs were catered for – they certainly did not snatch him in the heat of the moment.

But imagine if that had not been the case, and there had been a tragic outcome. Wouldn’t the critics have then condemned the police for complacency?

A complete breakdown in communication is at the centre of this tragic and complex situation.

It should surely have never reached the point at which Ashya’s parents were arrested like on-the-run bank robbers, subjected to lengthy court proceedings, and kept apart from their son.

The priority is a five-year-old boy who is suffering from a brain tumour. All alone, he must be frightened and bewildered.

All parties – his family, the hospital authorities, and the emergency services – clearly all want what is best for him.

It was wrong to allow the case to spiral so far out of control that the demonising language of criminal behaviour took over, rather than bring everyone together to agree the best way forward for a very sick little boy – in private.