Croydon North MP Malcolm Wicks has thrown his backing behind the campaign to free Burma after spending the summer volunteering on the country’s border.

The Labour politician met former political prisoners and pledged his support to activist Thet Thet Aung, who is serving a 60-year jail sentence for organising a student protest against the military Government in 1988.

He also met organisers on the Thai side of the border working for human rights and the restoration of democracy in Burma, which has been ruled by a military junta for nearly 50 years.

Mr Wicks said: “It is all very humbling. In Britain we - rightly - take democracy for granted.

“To hear of people standing up courageously to military dictatorship, to hear of those who have died in prison and others sentenced for a lifetime is both extremely sad, but also inspiring.

“The human thirst for democracy and liberty is extraordinary.

“I am convinced that one day Burma will be free.”