Initiated by a Thai coordinator and former journalist, who requested not to be named, the seminar has been allowed by the SOAS Centre of Southeast Asian Studies to take place on its premises. Panellists include the editor of Phujadkarn daily Sondhi Limthongkul and ex-chairman of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee Kraisak Chonhavan.

The coordinator said Thaksin, who now lives in west London with his wife and one daughter, had not been invited, due to security concerns. The event has received an overwhelming response, with more than 100 bookings from Thai students, local academics, media members and foreign observers from Germany and other countries.

A Thai Royal Family member will also attend. The moderator has not yet been named. "We want to provide a forum for Thais and observers in the United Kingdom to express their views on Thailand and assess Thaksin's tenure as prime minister. So far, Thais in the UK have been very quiet, unlike Thais in the United States. I thought about inviting Thaksin, so we'd have two sides of the story, but we decided not to," said the coordinator.

He added that the event had originally been planned before the military coup and scheduled for late next month but rescheduled in direct response to the coup.

Issues to be discussed include Thaksin's administration, the coup, the insurgency in southern Thailand and post-Thaksin Thailand. The event will feature video footage illustrating key events during Thaksin's administration.

The organisers had planned another discussion the day after the seminar at Hyde Park Corner but decided to scrap it, due to Sondhi's immediate departure for Washington, DC, for another event following his London speech.

The coordinator said the UK's liberal atmosphere made it possible for free political expression in the seminar and that he did not expect any threats from Thaksin's group.