Son of ousted Kyrgyz leader flees to UK

The son of toppled Kyrgyzstan president Kurmanbek Bakiyev is seeking asylum in Britain, it was revealed today.

Maxim Bakiyev, 33, was quizzed by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officials after arriving in a private jet at Farnborough airport in Hampshire on Sunday.

He is wanted over suspected corrupt business practices related to fuel supply contracts he handled for a United States airbase in his home country.

Kyrgyzstan officials told national television that Bakiyev wanted to seek asylum but would be "either extradited or judged" in Britain.

They said he is on an Interpol wanted list and is accused of embezzling part of a 300 million US dollars (£204 million) Russian loan.

Bakiyev senior was toppled as president in April in violent protests. He and his family later fled the volatile central Asian country.

Fresh ethnic violence has erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan over the past week, leaving many dead.

Tens of thousands of refugees have been attempting to flee into neighbouring Uzbekistan.

A spokesman for UKBA said: "We cannot comment on individual cases."

The Metropolitan Police referred calls to UKBA.