Britain icy on Saddam daughters
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Rana (left) and Raghad were reported to be impressed by UK schools.
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Home Office says it will not look favorably on granting asylum to two of Saddam Hussein's daughters after their cousin, who lives in Leeds, northern England, was reported as saying they wanted to live near him.
"We will not consider claims from any member of his family who may have been involved in human rights abuses -- this includes Saddam Hussein's daughters," a UK Home Office spokeswoman said on Thursday.
A cousin of the former Iraqi dictator, Ezzaldaein al-Majed, returned to Britain Thursday morning on a KLM flight connecting from Jordan through Amsterdam. He told the York Evening Press that Saddam's daughters want to come to England.
Majed told the newspaper: "His daughters had British schools and hospitals in mind when they decided to ask for asylum -- especially the schools."
He indicated the two daughters, Raghad, 35, and Rana, 33, would need financial assistance. Saddam also has a third daughter, Hala.
"As far as money goes, they are in a really bad way. They would definitely need financial help when they come to Britain," Majed told the newspaper. "Both women would like to live next to each other in Leeds. That's where I live and they would like to live near me."
He said the two were now in a safe house in Baghdad.
Saddam's daughters are said to be in a safe-house in Baghdad.
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Majed said he intended to begin lobbying the Home Office to grant the two asylum, but the Home Office indicated it would not be receptive.
The Home Office, which confirmed that Majed is a cousin of the former leader, said they had not yet received any formal application, and that they had "no evidence suggesting that Saddam Hussein's daughters would seek asylum in Britain."
Majed flew into the Leeds Bradford International Airport Thursday morning, where he was whisked away by employees of the Evening Press newspaper.
An anonymous airport source said, "He mentioned that he would be putting in an application," and added, "he took a quiet exit" from the airport.
The Home Office granted Majed indefinite leave to remain in October 2000 after claims that he was actually a victim of the Saddam Hussein regime.
-- CNN Producer Eden Pontz contributed to this report
