Theresa May raises case of North East ex-soldiers imprisoned in India
Theresa May has raised the case of six British ex-servicemen jailed in India with the country's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
Nick Dunn from Ashington and Nick Simpson from Catterick were given five-year prison sentences earlier this year after an Indian Court found they had entered Indian waters in 2013 without permission carrying unlicensed firearms.
During almost three hours of talks in New Delhi, Mrs May told her Indian counterpart that the plight of the so-called Chennai Six was “a case of concern'' in the UK.
British sources said that Mr Modi assured the PM he was aware of UK concerns and held out the prospect of considering whether there was anything that could be done by the two governments once the current appeal process has concluded.
The Chennai Six insist they were conducting legitimate anti-piracy work protecting merchant ships.
Family and friends have conducted a high-profile campaign to lobby for them to be freed, with our reporter Charlotte Murphy heading to number 10 with them in July carrying more than 300,000 signatures on a petition.
The British Government has not taken any position on the allegations against the men and has made clear it respects the independence of the Indian judiciary.
Ministers have already raised the case around 40 times - including five times with Mr Modi - but diplomatic action has focused on ensuring the matter is resolved as swiftly as possible.
Following Monday's talks, a UK source said:
“The Prime Minister raised the case of the Chennai Six and said that this was a case of concern in the UK.
“Prime Minister Modi said that they were aware of our concerns and that they were following the case closely, that there was a process that now needs to run - given that it has gone to appeal - and that once that process is complete, we should look at whether there was more that could be done between the two governments.”