Former Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra released on parole from sentence for corruption-related offences

Former Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has been released on parole from a Bangkok hospital where he spent six months serving time for corruption-related offences. Thaksin, the former Thai prime minister, was accused of corruption and abuse of power during his time in office from 2001 to 2006, when he was toppled in a coup.

In 2007, Thaksin, said to be a billionaire, bought Manchester City for around £80 million. But by the following year his assets had been frozen and he ultimately sold the club to the Abu Dhabi United Group for about £200 million.

He was made an honorary club president but in 2009, was removed from the position following his conviction. Thaksin was seen wearing a neck support, a sling on his right arm and a surgical mask inside one of the cars in a convoy leaving the Police General Hospital just before sunrise on Sunday.

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He was accompanied by his two daughters and they arrived at his residence in western Bangkok less than an hour later. A homemade banner with the words “Welcome home” and “We’ve been waiting for this day for so, so long” was seen hanging at the front gate of his house. Thaksin and his daughters were driven straight into the compound and did not give any reaction to a throng of reporters gathered on the street.

He is said to remain one of the most polarising figures in Thai politics over the last two decades. Analysts believe his release represents a drift towards reconciliation with his enemies in Thailand’s conservative elite, who saw his popularity and brash populist politics as a threat to the monarchy, which is considered a bedrock of Thai society.

Thaksin is still believed to wield huge influence and will