Derbyshire charity Kids ‘n’ Cancer hits back after Aysha King family claims: “They’ve not given us a penny”

The founder of Kids ‘n’ Cancer has hit back after Aysha King’s brother claimed the Chesterfield charity has not fulfilled its promises of help.

The charity raised £50,000 to pay for the youngster’s brain tumour treatment - but now says it will use that money to aid other sick children after the NHS stepped in to help Ashya.

Naveed King, Ashya’s brother, said on Facebook: “Kids ‘n’ Cancer have never given us any money.”

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He also said the charity had refused to pay the family’s legal fees, adding: “They said we are greedy asking for help.”

The charity insists it cannot legally pay their legal fees.

In a statement, Mike Hyman, chief executive of Kids ‘n’ Cancer, said: “Kids ‘n’ Cancer have helped many, many families over the years and will continue to do so. There are many, many families who do not get the sort of donations that the Kings have had.

“The Just Giving Page was set up by Sanjay Gunatra who specified that now the treatment has been paid for the donations will go towards helping other sick children and their families.

“The Kings asked us to pay their legal expenses which we cannot legally do.

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“There has obviously been a significant amount of money raised and I reiterate that Kids ‘n’ Cancer were prepared to underwrite £100,000 to pay for Ashya King’s treatment.”

Ashya’s case hit the headlines in August when his parents took him from hospital.

The five-year-old’s parents wanted him to have proton beam therapy, which was not recommended by the doctors caring for him at Southampton General Hospital.

After removing Ashya from the hospital, the Kings were arrested in Spain and spent several days away from their son, being reunited with him after the Crown Prosecution Service withdrew a European arrest warrant.

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The family was flown by private jet to Prague for Ashya to have the proton beam therapy at a Czech clinic.

On September 26 the NHS agreed to fund the treatment, saying it was “clearly best” Ashya continued to be treated “uninterrupted”.