Ousted Thai PM Thaksin flies to London rather than face corruption charges

The millionaire spoke after he and his wife Pojaman skipped a Bangkok court hearing on corruption charges.

It now seems unlikely he will be able to reclaim the £800million frozen in Thailand, placing a major question mark over his ability to fund City, which he bought 14 months ago.

Thaksin Shinawatra, front, and his wife Potjaman at criminal court in Bangkok. Potjaman was sentenced to three years in jail for tax evasion

A statement from Mr Thaksin said he fled because he could not expect justice in Thai courts.

The couple left Thailand last week after the court gave them permission to attend the Olympic Games in Beijing.

News reports in Bangkok said they flew from China to England, where the former leader also owns several properties.

If true, his decision not to return to fight a series of cases would signal a significant easing of the political tension that has dogged the government and Thai markets for the last three years.

On Thursday, the stock market rose 4 per cent as rumours circulated that Thaksin and his wife, Potjaman, who is on bail after being sentenced to three years in jail for tax fraud, might not return from their trip to China.

Before the weekend, spokesmen for the couple insisted they would return to Bangkok on the Thai Airways flight, in time for both to report to the courts as required by their bail conditions.

But two airline industry officials said they did not get on the plane.

'There is no Shinawatra family member on the flight,' the industry source said.

Thaksin's lawyer and his principal spokesman in Thailand had their mobile phones switched off today.

'If Thaksin really doesn't come back, the conflict in our country will lessen, which implies that our prolonged political trouble will come to an end soon,' Kavee Chukitkasem, head of research at Bangkok brokerage Kasikorn Securities, said.

'The markets should definitely rise tomorrow,' he said.

Thaksin was removed by the army in a coup in 2006 on the grounds of 'rampant corruption', although many analysts suspected the hand of the royalist military establishment moving against what it saw as an arriviste Chinese billionaire.

However, his lingering popularity in the countryside ensured an avowedly pro-Thaksin party won December's general election, allowing him to continue to influence cabinet appointments and decisions.

Since then, however, the courts have accepted a series of corruption cases against Thaksin and his inner circle, and last month's guilty verdict against Potjaman suggested they were not going to be intimidated by his wealth or influence..