London: Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will arrive in Britain later on Wednesday on a private visit, the Foreign Office said.
Thaksin was deposed in a bloodless, army-led coup on Tuesday while he was attending a session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
''He is not in the UK yet but we are aware that he is coming to London later on Wednesday,'' a Foreign Office spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
She would not release details of his flight or where he was arriving. The Thai Embassy in London said it had no immediate information on Thaksin's whereabouts.
A reporter for Thai TV station Channel 9 who was traveling with Thaksin said he had boarded a chartered Thai Airways flight for London at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport.
A British government spokesman said Thaksin's visit was private and he had no meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Tony Blair or other officials.
''Any citizen of the world is free to visit the UK providing their paperwork is in order,'' he said on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
Thaksin would have to follow normal channels if he wanted to apply for residency in Britain, the government spokesman said.
His daughter Pinthongta is studying in London, and Thaksin is reported to own property in the city.
Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said Thaksin had not requested a meeting with Blair.
He said the British government was concerned about events in Thailand.
''Our general approach would be that we wish to see a return to democracy as quickly as possible,'' he said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
''There are elections scheduled for October and November and we are actively trying to find out whether those elections will go ahead or not. Obviously, we believe they should.''
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