But after learning that Yuwadee had slipped into a coma in hospital, the premier wished the veteran journo a quick recovery.

“The PM is a man of the military, where seniority matters,” said Government Spokesperson Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd Monday. “Yuwadee’s husband [General Sirichai Tunyasiri] was his senior and he has always regarded her as a sister-in-law.”

Sansern spoke in response to Prayut having not visited Yuwadee in hospital.

Yuwadee spent around four decades on the Government House beat before being banned from there last year due to the retiree’s lack of media accreditation.

She was known for her straightforward questioning of the PM, who apologised to her after warning her to “watch yourself” on last year’s World Freedom Day.

The 71-year-old journalist was admitted to hospital on Friday due to severe gastrointestinal bleeding.

Politicians from the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties, as well as generations of journalists, have visited her in hospital.

PM’s Secretary General Vilas Arunsri had his representatives pass on a well-wishing bouquet to Yuwadee. The bouquet’s card had only Vilas’ name on it, but Sansern insisted that Vilas represented Prayut in the gesture.

Asked about his own attitude to Yuwadee as the government’s spokesman, Sansern said: “I think like the premier. I count her as my sister-in-law. I didn’t talk to her much but I salute her every time I saw her.”