In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times at his office in Parliament House, Mr Abhisit said: 'A lot of countries have contempt of court laws, because the courts have to be neutral and respected. The monarchy is a revered institution above politics and conflicts and therefore has no self-defence mechanism, that's why we have the law.'

He agreed however, that the application of the law 'has caused a number of problems'.

'Unfortunately the cases that are proceeding are not cases initiated during my administration; they were in the pipeline. But I've already told the police chief there are some concerns and sensitivities that he should be aware of when applying the law, and he has to be more careful that the law is not abused or too liberally interpreted.'

Mr Abhisit's comments came amid controversy following the jailing of Australian writer Harry Nicolaides for lese majeste last month, and the prosecution of a prominent academic professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn who last weekend fled to Britain and released a statement attacking Thai courts as a tool of the elite and the army.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.