The Foreign Office has vowed not to give up in the battle to see six Britons freed from prison - including a Cumbrian man.

The British Government has backed the men's pleas of innocence, with one Cumbrian MP - Rory Stewart - urging justice to hurry up, so Wigton's John Armstrong can finally be free.

Kirsten Oswald, MP for East Renfrewshire, raised the case of the #Chennai6 in Parliament this week.

The six Britons are among 35 men in prison in India after being convicted of illegally possessing firearms and subsequently being sentenced to five years in jail.

Mrs Oswald said: "Six innocent UK military veterans remain in jail in India. The Foreign Secretary has still not met with their families.

"This Government has been in a tizzy over Brexit and has not been focusing on these men, and now this cynical Tory election means their perilous situation has slipped even further down the priority list.

"These military visitors deserve better than this so, in the time left, what is this Government going to do to get Billy and his colleagues home where they belong, with their families."

David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, responded by reassuring the families that the men have not been forgotten.

"The Prime Minister has raised the case of the Chennai six with Prime Minister Modi of India; Foreign Office Ministers and our high commissioner in New Delhi have raised the issue many times with their Indian counterparts; and representations continue to be made to the Indian high commissioner here in London," he said.

"The case is with the judicial system in India, which is a mature democracy, and we will continue to make all representations possible on behalf of those men.

"We are certainly not giving up."

John Armstrong, 29, was working as an armed security guard for the American anti-piracy firm Advanfort, when he was arrested on board the Seaman Guard Ohio in October 2013.

The crew spent six months in jail before being released on bail. The charges were subsequently quashed.

An appeal by Q branch, a specialist branch of the Indian police, eventually led to the men standing trial in September 2015.

The men were convicted in January 2016, after spending more than two years fighting for justice.

They lodged an appeal soon afterwards, which concluded last November. Despite this, they have yet to hear the result of that appeal and have no idea when it may come.

Their families and friends in the UK have been rallying and campaigning on the men's behalf, determined to see them allowed home.