Thais push for Thaksin’s extradition

Bangkok prosecutors are to press for the extradition from Britain of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for corruption yesterday.

The Thai Supreme Court found him guilty of abusing his position as Prime Minister. Thaksin, who was deposed in a bloodless coup in 2006, violated conflict of interest rules in helping his wife to buy land from a state agency at a reduced price, the court ruled.

After he was ousted Thaksin fled to London, buying a house in Kensington and the Manchester City football club. In February he returned to Thailand, where he was arrested on corruption charges and bailed. He was permitted to attend the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August. But instead of returning to Bangkok, he and his wife fled to London.

Yesterday Thaksin told Reuters news agency: "I had long anticipated that it would turn out this way."