A judge has dismissed prosecution demands that the head of a metals company linked to Hungary's devastating red sludge spill be charged with negligence and he has been released from police custody, his lawyer said today.

POLICE have detained the director of the aluminum company responsible for a flood of caustic red sludge that killed eight people when it burst from its reservoir last week.

The boss of the aluminium company responsible for Hungary's flood of caustic red sludge was arrested today.