Foreign Minister confirms Yingluck in London since Sept

A woman believed to be former and fugitive prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is pictured in London over the Christmas-New Year period. (Photo from @zenjournalist Twitter account and Andrew MacGregor Marshall Facebook account)

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai confirmed on Tuesday that fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been in London since September, and possibly carries the passport of another country as her Thai passports were revoked.

Mr Don said the British Foreign Secretary had given him this information.

However, the minister said he had no information as to Yingluck's status in the UK or whether she had applied for asylum or other visa there.

Mr Don said Yingluck may have used a passport issued by another country to enter the UK, because all four of her Thai passports were officially revoked.

Asked if the government will try to expedite Yingluck's extradition and return to Thailand to face justice, Mr Don said the matter will be considered from every angle.

Mr Don refused to comment when asked if the government would be able to oppose any request for asylum in the UK. He said only that Yingluck being in the UK does not affect Thai-UK relations.(continues below)

(Video YouTube/NBT WORLD)

A fresh photo said to be of Yingluck and taken in London during the New Year period spread online early last week. It followed an earlier photo of a woman resembling Yingluck which surfaced late last month and was reported to have been taken on Dec 26 at Westfield Shopping Centre in West London.

The latest picture supposedly shows the ex-premier with a Thai woman outside what is reported to be Harrod's in London.

National police chief Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahamanakul earlier said the photo was probably authentic.

Yingluck disappeared shortly before Aug 25 when the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions was scheduled to deliver judgement in her rice-pledging scheme corruption trial.

In her absence the court postponed the ruling to Sept 27, when it handed Yingluck a five-year jail term for failure to stop false and corrupt government-to-government sales of rice from the rice programme even though she had been told of the irregularities. It also issued a fresh bench warrant for her arrest.