Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister, has said he is giving up his fight for asylum in the UK after the government in London revoked his visa last week.

Speaking from Beijing the exiled former leader, who was ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006, said he would continue to fight against his political enemies at home in Thailand.

Speaking by phone to the Reuters news agency, Thaksin said that by abandoning plans to return to the UK and scrapping his asylum application there, he would be free to resume political activities.

"I dropped the asylum bid because I don't think it is necessary. I don't like the term asylum. I want freedom because I am a champion of democracy. I don't like anything that restricts freedom," he said.

It is unclear as yet why the British government revoked the visas for Thaksin and his wife.

Thaksin added that while he had been living in Beijing in recent days, he planned to move on to another undisclosed location.

Last month a court in Thailand sentenced Thaksin to two years in jail after finding him guilty of abusing his powers while prime minister.

Thailand has been wracked by months of political turmoil with continuing anti-Thaksin protests led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - an unelected group led by royalists, academics and businessmen .

PAD supporters have occupied the official compound of the prime minister's offices since August, demanding that the current government stacked with Thaksin loyalists steps aside.

The crisis has shown no signs of resolution, to the dismay of Thai investors worried about the lack of a functioning government with a global recession looming.