Thailand's Constitutional Court has voted to sack Paetongtarn Shinawatra over a leaked phone call to former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, in which she called him "uncle" and disparaged a Thai military commander. The verdict immediately removed her from the prime minister's office and dissolved her cabinet.

Dozens of senators filed a petition to the Constitutional Court, claiming that she had violated ethical rules and undermined the country's powerful military at a time when tensions were flaring at the Thai-Cambodian border

Paetongtarn previously defended the call as a "negotiation technique". But the court said that her actions had "caused the public to lose faith and trust". Speaking after the ruling, she acknowledged the court's verdict but maintained that she had meant to "save lives" amid escalating border tensions.

The verdict deals a big blow to the Shinawatra family, which has dominated Thai politics for two decades. She is the fifth Thai prime minister to be removed from office by this court - all of them from administrations backed by her father Thaksin Shinawatra. This has given rise to a widespread belief in Thailand that the court nearly always rules against those seen as a threat to conservative forces, South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head says.

Thai lawmakers are now scrambling to vote for a new prime minister. There are five eligible candidates - all from a pre-selected list.

We're wrapping up our live coverage of a momentous day in Thailand. Further updates can be found in our article: Thai court removes PM over leaked phone call with Cambodian leader

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The Shinawatras have long campaigned, and formed a coalition, on promises of reviving the country's stagnant economy, says the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.

But since coming to power, the family's Pheu Thai party has not been able to do that.

A lot of Thai people are weary, not just of squabbling politicians but of the fact that every time an election delivers a result, it's ultimately the court that decides who runs the country.

As a reminder, the Constitutional Court - which critics have accused of being pro-military and pro-royalist - has strong influence over the country's politics. Last August, it voted to dissolve the progressive Move Forward Party - the biggest winner of the 2023 election.

Image source, Getty Images

The Constitutional Court was created in 1997 to decide on issues like the removal of public officials and political parties. However, critics say it is biased in favour of the military.

Here's a look at some of its most significant decisions concerning Thailand's prime ministers in the last 20 years.

In 2006, lawmakers submitted a petition to the court calling for Thaksin to be impeached, accusing him of conflict of interest over the sale of his family's shares in a company. However, the court rejected the petition, with judges saying the petition did not present enough evidence.

In 2008, Samak Sundaravej, prime minister from the People's Power Party - an incarnation of Thaksin's party - was ousted by the court over conflict of interest by accepting nominal fees for hosting television cooking shows.

In 2014, the court voted to remove prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was accused of abuse of power for transferring her national security chief.

In 2024, the Constitutional Court removed Srettha Thavisin as prime minister for an ethical breach, after he appointed to his Cabinet a lawmaker who had been jailed for trying to bribe a judge.

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Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been removed from office, so what happens now?

Parliament does not have to be dissolved in order for a new leader to be selected, but a majority of MPs do need to support one of five registered candidates:

• Chaikasem Nitisiri, from the Paetongtarn's Pheu Thai Party
• Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, which quit the ruling coalition after the leaked phone call.
• Prayuth Chan-ocha, former prime minister who retired from politics in 2023 - though he remains on the candidate list for the pro-military United Thai Nation Party
• Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, deputy prime minister and energy minister, who is also on the list for the United Thai Nation Party
• Jurin Laksanawisit, from the conservative Democrat Party

Anutin Charnvirakul could be the front-runner, but he has fallen out with Paetongtarn's father and Pheu Thai founder, Thaksin Shinawatra, and would need the party's support.

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Pheu Thai will nominate Chaikasem Nitisiri as its prime ministerial candidate after party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed, a party source tells the BBC.

Chaikasem, 77, is a lawyer and former attorney general who served as justice minister in 2013.

At the Pheu Thai Party's headquarters, Paetongtarn's supporters broke into tears after hearing the Court's verdict, which removed the 39-year-old from office.

The Red Shirts - as they are known - are a loyal base for the Shinawatras, mainly comprising rural workers, business owners and students who have long railed against Thailand's elite politics.

Image source, Thai News Pix

Image source, Thai News Pix

Image source, Thai News Pix

The court ruling says Paetongtarn possessed a "personal relationship" that appeared to "align with Cambodia". As we've just explained in our previous post, the friendship between Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen - and the Shinawatra family goes back decades, though they have since fallen out with each other.

"Due to a personal relationship that appeared aligned with Cambodia, the respondent was consistently willing to comply with or act in accordance with the wishes of the Cambodian side," the ruling states.

It was argued that the PM "demonstrated inaction and failed to discharge her duties by neither responding nor implementing any measures, including initiating or overseeing international negotiations in a manner consistent with the duties and responsibilities that would reasonably be expected of a person in the position, capacity, and circumstances of a Prime Minister."

Image source, Getty Images

At the heart of Paetongtarn Shinawatra's case was a leaked phone call between her and Hun Sen, Cambodia's former leader.

In the call, she was heard calling him "uncle" - a reminder of the famous friendship between two political dynasties.

Hun Sen and Thaksin, Thailand's former prime minister and Paetongtarn's father, previously described each other as "godbrothers" - though they have since fallen out with each other.

Hun Sen, who posted the 17-minute-long phone call on Facebook, said in June that the Shinawatras had "betrayed" him. He also threatened to "expose the Thaksin family".

Before he handed the reins to his son in 2023, Hun Sen was one of the world's longest serving leaders, with 38 years under his belt as prime minister of Cambodia.

Hun Sen is credited with helping achieve economic growth and peace after the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge regime.

But he is also seen as an authoritarian figure with a poor human rights record. Under his tenure, political dissidents and opposition leaders were jailed, while independent media outlets were shuttered.

Jonathan Head
BBC South East Asia Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Thailand's Constitutional Court strikes again, removing yet another prime minister from office.

The country's notoriously interventionist panel of nine appointed judges has ruled that Paetongtarn Shinawatra violated ethical standards in a phone call she had in June with veteran Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which he then leaked.

In it, Paetongtarn could be heard being conciliatory towards Hun Sen over their countries' border dispute, and criticising one of her own army commanders.

She defended her conversation saying she had been trying to make a diplomatic breakthrough with Hun Sen, an old friend of her father Thaksin Shinawatra, and said the conversation should have remained confidential.

The leak was damaging and deeply embarrassing for her and her Pheu Thai party. It sparked calls for her to resign as her biggest coalition partner walked out of the government, leaving her with a slim majority.

In July, seven out of the nine judges on the court voted to suspend Paetongtarn, a margin which suggested she would suffer the same fate as her four predecessors. So today's decision is not a surprise.

Paetongtarn is the fifth Thai prime minister to be removed from office by this court, all of them from administrations backed by her father.

This has given rise to a widespread belief in Thailand that it nearly always rules against those seen as a threat by conservative, royalist forces.

For more, read Jonathan Head's piece in full.

Earlier, we brought you live coverage of the removed prime minister's brief address. We now have some fuller quotes of those key lines:

• During the leaked call, I did not ask for anything that would benefit me personally: "As a Thai person, I insist on my sincerity and my genuine intention to work for the country all along - even in that conversation in the voice clip, I did not ask for anything that would benefit me personally."
• I intended to save lives: "I’d like to reiterate to the people that what I adhered to the most is the lives of the people - be it soldiers or civilians. I truly intended, with the determination to save their lives."
• The call happened before deadly July fighting: "The clip happened before the violent clash on 24 July. I’d like to repeat that it was what I truly intended to communicate." For context, dozens were killed when fighting broke out along the Thai-Cambodian border that day after weeks of simmering tension.
• This is another abrupt political change: "Today’s court verdict caused yet another abrupt political change. We now have to help each other—every side, including the government, the opposition and the people—everyone must join hands to create a political stability and bring it back to strength, so that this kind of abrupt change can no longer occur."

Image source, Reuters

After that very brief address from ousted Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, let's review the key lines from this story:

• A Thai court removed Paetongtarn from office over a contentious leaked phone call with Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen

• In the call, she called Hun Sen "uncle" and spoke dismissively about a Thai military commander. Critics accused her of undermining Thailand's powerful military and took issue with her apparent deference to Hun Sen
• Paetongtarn apologised after the leak, claiming it was a "negotiating tactic" amid worsening border tensions with Cambodia
• But the Thai Constitutional Court today ruled that her "actions did not preserve the nation’s pride and considered personal interest over the country’s, which seriously violated or failed to follow the ethical standards"
• In her first comments after the ruling, made moments ago, Paetongtarn acknowledged the ruling, but said that it had caused another "abrupt change" in Thailand, where she becomes the fifth leader since 2008 to be dismissed by this court
• Thailand's deputy PM will now replace Paetongtarn before a new vote is held for prime minister

Paetongtarn's address to reporters was very brief.

"I pass on my support to the next administration," she says before bowing, smiling and departing.

She is not taking any questions from the reporters gathered there.

Image source, Getty Images

Paetongtarn says that today's verdict is "yet another abrupt political change" in Thailand, where she becomes the fifth leader since 2008 to be dismissed by this court.

She thanks "everyone who gave me the opportunity to work in the past year" and says that she "loves the nation, the religion and the monarchy" of Thailand "as much as a person could".

Image source, EPA

"First of all, with due respect to the justice system, I acknowledge the court’s verdict," Paetongtarn says.

"But as a Thai person, I insist on my sincerity ... to work for the country."

"What I adhere to the most is the lives of the people, both soldiers and civilians," she says, saying that in the phone call with Hun Sen at the centre of this ruling, she did not ask for anything of personal benefit.

"I intend to save their lives… that’s what I intended to communicate."

Paetongtarn, along with her ministers and aides, have gathered in front of reporters at the Government House.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest lines and you can watch live at the top of this page.

More again from the Constitutional Court, which has released a statement summarising its verdict.

A petition had been submitted to the court by 36 senators, who accused Paetongtarn of an ethical breach over her leaked phone call with Hun Sen.

She confirmed the phone call, claiming that it had been a private phone conversation with the intent to negotiate peace. But lawmakers who filed the petition argued that Paetongtarn's actions was not in line with her duties as prime minister.

The Constitution Court's nine judges voted 6-3 against Paetongtarn, ruling that her actions had violated the ethical standards a prime minister is subjected to under the Constitution.

Image source, Getty Images

With the Constitutional Court's ruling moments ago, Paetongtarn is immediately removed from office and her cabinet dissolved.

This makes her the fifth prime minister to be removed by the Constitutional Court since 2008.

Paetongtarn was suspended in July after her leaked phone call with Hun Sen prompted uproar.

She was Thailand’s youngest ever leader - being only 37 when she took up the post - and also its second female prime minister after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra who ruled from 2011 to 2014.

The daughter of billionaire and former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, she attended elite schools in Thailand and went to university in Surrey in the UK before working for the family’s Rende hotel group.

Known by her nickname Ung Ing, she joined the Pheu Thai Party in 2021 and became its leader in 2023.

Last year, the Thai parliament chose her to replace predecessor Srettha Thavisin, who was removed by the country’s Constitutional Court for violating a rule on cabinet appointments.

The Shinawatras have dominated Thai politics for decades - and her removal is a blow to the political dynasty.

Image source, Reuters

Paetongtarn is set to hold a press conference at the Government House, where she was waiting for the Constitutional Court verdict with her ministers.

We'll bring you the latest lines as we get them - do stay with us.

Now, more on the Constitutional Court's verdict.

While Paetongtarn had claimed that the call with Cambodia's Hun Sen, was a "personal negotiation to resolve the country's problem and bring back peace without using violence," the court said.

"It has caused the public to cast doubt if [her actions] would benefit Cambodia more than benefitting the nation’s interest."

Her move has "caused the public to lose trust and faith towards the Thai premiership" and caused "grave damage" to the her work, the court said.

"[Paetongtarn]’s actions did not preserve the nation’s pride and considered personal interest over the country’s, which seriously violated or failed to follow the ethical standards," the court said in its verdict.

Paetongtarn had defended her tone in the leaked phone call as a negotiation technique. But the court in its verdict rejected the argument, along with her claim that she had been trying to defend Thailand's interests.