The British government has revoked the visa granted to Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, who had taken refuge in England after being charged with corruption this year.

Mr Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire and one-time owner of Manchester City Football Club, was thrown out of office in a military coup in 2006. He returned to Thailand briefly early this year but he fled bail in August when it became clear that corruption charges against him, which he believes are politically motivated, would not be dropped.