Allegations of gun-smuggling, secret missions and fabricated evidence would normally be the staple diet of Hollywood movies.

But for a former Southend man, who has languished in a Calcutta jail for five years without trial, the story is all too real. JAMES TAYLOR and GERALDINE O'CONNOR report.

Peter Bleach has been in an Indian jail since 1995 awaiting trial on charges of arms smuggling, conspiracy and sedition.

He was arrested by Indian police for allegedly parachuting in crates of weapons from a cargo plane in eastern India and could face the death penalty if convicted.

A verdict in his trial before a Calcutta judge was expected on Monday but delays have now put back it back to at least the end of this month.

The case is not straightforward.

Mr Bleach, 47, a former army intelligence officer who was Conservative party chairman in Southend's St Luke's ward 18 years ago, has always claimed he was acting as a James Bond-style "double agent" and was setting up a bogus deal to expose Bangladesh firearms criminals. He said in 1988 he had gone undercover to trap IRA terrorists.

To date, despite efforts by his close friend Rochford and Southend East MP Sir Teddy Taylor to highlight the case, the British government has refused to comment on or confirm his story.

Sir Teddy said he had seen evidence which he believed proved Mr Bleach's story. But he claimed the evidence had been altered and cut before being put to the Indian court.

This week he said: "Not only am I convinced of his case, I have given the Foreign Office full information of whom he met and when he met them. I am also convinced the evidence to the court was changed to disguise the fact he was in contact with the security services.

"He kept them advised of all he was doing. But I was not able to persuade the Foreign Office to tell this to the Indian government."

He said: "Evidence supplied to the court by the British authorities had been altered.

"The evidence I had seen had been cut...It was most certainly not a bureaucratic mistake and I have made strong representations about it."

He added: "I fully accept there was no doubt he was involved with the weapons but the Home Office was fully aware of it." He said he received regular long letters from his friend and that he was "bearing up astonishingly well".

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We never comment on charges levelled against anybody but we will provide consular services to anybody that asks."

That included prison visits, passing on messages to and from friends and family and making representations about prison conditions, he said. They had sent Mr Bleach toiletries, multi-vitamins and medicines.

They had also given him a desk and a typewriter because he was conducting his own defence.

Asked about the fact Mr Bleach had been in jail for five years without trial, he said: "The trial is onging and we cannot comment on another country's legal system. But in India trials do not happen very quickly."

Double agent? - Peter Bleach

Report codemns Indian prisons

An Amnesty International report on India notes that torture and ill-treatment dominate in prisons across the country.

Hundreds of people die in custody and conditions in many prisons amount to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment".

Prisoners tended to disappear without trace and hundreds of illegal executions were reported, says the report.

Severe overcrowding, a lack of medical facilities, poor sanitation and ill-treatment by staff were just some of the criticisms.

Prisoners Abroad, which knows about Mr Bleach's case, said conditions in Indian prisons were notoriously appalling.

A spokesman said: "Prisoners are generally held in crowded cells or barracks, sharing with others. Days are characterised by boredom and apathy and most of the barracks are infested with bed bugs, lice and mosquitoes."

Diet consists of lentils, rice, bananas and tapioca with the last meal at 4pm which means prisoners must wait 18 hours before they are fed again.

The spokesman said: "There is little access to medical or dental care. Many prisoners suffer from scabies, jaundice and tuberculosis."

The legal wheels also have a reputation for turning incredibly slowly.

Stephen Jakobi, from Fair Trials Abroad, said: "At grass roots level in magistrates courts, there are many problems such as corruption, incompetence and political interference.

"However, as serious cases progress through to the high courts, the conditions get better and the high court judges are on a par with our circuit judges in Britain. The supreme court, where appeals are held, is one of the greatest in the world.

"One of the dreadful things about the Indian system is the delays. It can take several years for a case to get to trial and several more years for appeal.

"We dealt with the case of a woman accused of possessing cannabis in Delhi. It took four years to get to trial where she was found guilty and another three years to get to appeal where she was acquitted. When she was freed, she had served seven years."

Prisoners Abroad can be contacted on 0171 833 3467.

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