Stars in call to free men

Reporter THE cast of Emmerdale are the latest celebrities calling for the release of six former British soldiers left “languishing” in an Indian jail.

Nick Dunn, of Ashington, Northumberland, is one of the group of ex-serviceman known as the Chennai Six who were jailed for five years for firearms offences.

The six men were working on an anti-piracy ship when they were arrested in 2013.

Their plight has been raised at the G20 summit and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson previously vowed to “leave no stone unturned” in a bid to bring the men back to the UK.

Now, the stars of Emmerdale, including John Bowe, who plays Lawrence White, have posted a picture online of the cast showing their support.

Mr Bowe said: “It is completely incomprehensible that six good men, ex-servicemen, should be arrested and imprisoned in error for nearly four years for carrying out their contract to protect merchant shipping from piracy in the Indian Ocean.

“These men are in physical and mental torment in bad conditions and it is the responsibility of our Prime Minister and the Foreign Office to appeal to them for their immediate release.”

Former Coronation Street actor Charlie Lawson, who played Jim McDonald, has long been a supporter of the campaign.

The men were working for US maritime company AdvanFort providing antipiracy protection when their ship was detained and weapons were found. They were arrested in October 2013 on illegal weapons charges, which were dropped, but an appeal followed from the Indian authorities and the men were later convicted and sentenced to five years in jail. The families of the six men have branded the case a miscarriage of justice. Nick Dunn