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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| MPs urged by families to help Britons jailed in India | MPs urged by families to help Britons jailed in India |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Relatives of six British seamen jailed in India four years ago have lobbied MPs to demand the government do more to help secure their release. | Relatives of six British seamen jailed in India four years ago have lobbied MPs to demand the government do more to help secure their release. |
| The six were arrested in October 2013 for taking weapons into India's territorial waters. They were convicted and jailed for five years in 2016. | The six were arrested in October 2013 for taking weapons into India's territorial waters. They were convicted and jailed for five years in 2016. |
| The men deny any wrongdoing, saying the weapons were properly licensed. | The men deny any wrongdoing, saying the weapons were properly licensed. |
| A 405,000-signature petition calling for the "wrongly imprisoned" men to be freed has been handed in at Number 10. | A 405,000-signature petition calling for the "wrongly imprisoned" men to be freed has been handed in at Number 10. |
| Indian coastguards boarded their vessel, the MV Seaman Guard Ohio, while the men were working as security guards to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean. | Indian coastguards boarded their vessel, the MV Seaman Guard Ohio, while the men were working as security guards to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean. |
| Charges against them and 29 other crew members were initially quashed when the men argued the weapons were lawfully held for anti-piracy purposes. | Charges against them and 29 other crew members were initially quashed when the men argued the weapons were lawfully held for anti-piracy purposes. |
| However, a lower court reinstated the prosecution. | However, a lower court reinstated the prosecution. |
| The British men - all former soldiers - are: | The British men - all former soldiers - are: |
| Nick Dunn, from Ashington, Northumberland | Nick Dunn, from Ashington, Northumberland |
| Billy Irving, from Connel, Argyll | Billy Irving, from Connel, Argyll |
| Ray Tindall, from Chester | Ray Tindall, from Chester |
| Paul Towers, from Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire | Paul Towers, from Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| John Armstrong, from Wigton, Cumbria | John Armstrong, from Wigton, Cumbria |
| Nicholas Simpson, from Catterick, North Yorkshire | Nicholas Simpson, from Catterick, North Yorkshire |
| Billy Irving's fiancee, Yvonne MacHugh, from Paisley, said their two-year-old son William had not yet spent a day at home with his father but had been to visit Mr Irving in India three times. | |
| She said the government's efforts "aren't good enough", adding: "I want them to openly say 'We know the men are innocent, release them now'. "And fight for them." | |
| She said the couple had planned the wedding for May 2016 when they thought he would be home. | |
| "I just want it to happen tomorrow, and not in five years time," she said. | |
| "We just know we have to do something, and we're trying to do everything we can to bring him home." | |
| Ms MacHugh added that her fiance writes bedtime stories to their son which she reads to him at night. | |
| Joanne Thomlinson, the sister of John Armstrong, said: "My five-year-old son hasn't seen his uncle John since he was a baby, he only really remembers him from pictures. | Joanne Thomlinson, the sister of John Armstrong, said: "My five-year-old son hasn't seen his uncle John since he was a baby, he only really remembers him from pictures. |
| "My brother tries to take one day at a time, he spends his days walking, he's learning a foreign language, that's how he gets through each day, he gives himself little milestones." | "My brother tries to take one day at a time, he spends his days walking, he's learning a foreign language, that's how he gets through each day, he gives himself little milestones." |
| Prime Minister Theresa May has raised the matter on a visit to India and Britain's High Commissioner in India has visited the men in jail in Chennai, but the families say Foreign Office diplomacy is not working. | Prime Minister Theresa May has raised the matter on a visit to India and Britain's High Commissioner in India has visited the men in jail in Chennai, but the families say Foreign Office diplomacy is not working. |
| Speaking to the BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme, Mrs Thomlinson added: "We know they've raised this case over 50 times at ministerial level with Indian counterparts, but we want them to put more pressure on in these discussions." | Speaking to the BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme, Mrs Thomlinson added: "We know they've raised this case over 50 times at ministerial level with Indian counterparts, but we want them to put more pressure on in these discussions." |
| Lawyer Stephen Askins, who represents the imprisoned men, said: "It is extraordinary that it is the fourth anniversary of the arrest and the initial detention of these men. | Lawyer Stephen Askins, who represents the imprisoned men, said: "It is extraordinary that it is the fourth anniversary of the arrest and the initial detention of these men. |
| "I can't believe that any of us would have thought we would still be here, four years later, dealing with this." | "I can't believe that any of us would have thought we would still be here, four years later, dealing with this." |