A British oil executive has opened up about being jailed alongside ‘very serious’ criminals in India for bringing a satellite phone with him on a yoga retreat.

Fergus MacLeod, who works for the Dhahran-based oil company Saudi Aramco, was arrested after Indian authorities traced the illegal phone.

Used by terrorists during the four-day shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai in 2008, satellite phones are now prohibited in the country.

Unaware of the ban, Mr MacLeod brought one with him to what was supposed to be the wellness break in the Himalayas.

The 62-year-old had bought the phone in the UK, using it during his work travels in Saudi Arabia.

He told the Financial Times he had already passed through two airports in India, carrying it openly, without being stopped by staff.

But the executive was later arrested at his hotel in the Valley of Flowers national park in Uttarakhand state.

Mr MacLeod recalls being locked in jail where authorities ‘ignored’ his repeated requests to contact his lawyer, the British High Commission and his family.

‘It was a frightening place and a highly traumatic experience, where I was in a communal cell with long-term prisoners who had committed very serious crimes, he said.

After almost a week behind bars, and being questioned about the phone, he was finally freed.

Mr MacLeod’s friends had posted his bail but he was still not allowed to leave the country until after the court hearing on July 27.

There, he pleaded guilty to the offence and paid a fine of Rs1,000 (about £10).

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: ‘We provided support to a British man in India and were in contact with his family.’

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