a former KGB officer seeks asylum in UK

The Home Office is considering whether to grant asylum to a former KGB officer who fled to the UK on Wednesday saying that his life was in danger. The chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, Tom King, confirmed that Alexander Litvinenko was in the country. Mr King said that an application for him to stay was being processed. The former Russian secret agent is reported to staying in a safe house close to London where he has been questioned by Special Branch officers and by the Home Office, BBC reports. Mr Litvinenko said that his life had been threatened after he admitted in 1998 being ordered to assassinate Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky.