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The Prime Minister of Thailand has caused outrage today by appearing to criticise the behaviour of two Britons brutally murdered on an idyllic island.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ochas questioned whether 'beautiful bikini-wearing tourists' are safe in his country - remarks which are likely to infuriate the relatives of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23.

As reported by Channel News Asia, in a live TV broadcast, the PM said about tourists: "They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want, they can wear bikinis and walk everywhere."

He then added: "....can they be safe in bikinis... unless they are not beautiful?".

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It follows previous comments Thailand's PM made in which he said "We have to look into the behaviour of the other party (Miss Witheridge and Mr Miller) too".

His remarks - which appear to blame the two young Brits for what happened to them - will no doubt infuriate their families.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

Miss Witheridge's local MP Brandon Lewis told the Daily Express: “I have not seen anything indicating any blame on the victims. I hope the focus will be on bringing whoever committed this barbaric crime to justice.”

The bodies of Mr Miller and Miss Witheridge were found early on Monday on a beach on Koh Tao, a southern island famous for coral reefs and diving.

The bodies have been sent to Bangkok for autopsy and preliminary results of the examination could be released later on Tuesday, a police adviser said.

The story of the murder would have "all sorts of consequences" for Thailand, said General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

"We have ordered police and soldiers to hunt down the suspects," Prayuth told reporters.

Thailand is still under martial law after the May 22 coup. That has kept away some visitors, as they are unable to buy travel insurance for destinations where martial law is in place.

The number of visitors to Thailand fell more than 10 percent in the first eight months of 2014 from a year ago to 15.7 million.