Leading Taliban member said to be in London

A leading member of the Taliban has reportedly arrived in Britain as an asylum seeker.

Mohammad Ihsan Mutmain is said to be living somewhere in London, although it's not known how he got into the country.

Mr Mutmain is a former junior minister in Afghanistan's ousted Government and is said to have fled shortly before the September 11 attacks.

Mr Mutmain left Afghanistan late last summer, travelling to Britain via Peshawar in Pakistan. The reason for his departure is unknown to his colleagues at the Ministry of Commerce, where he served as assistant minister.

He's wanted for questioning in Kabul about his alleged role in a drug-running operation which helped the Taliban fund their civil war against the Northern Alliance.

It's also thought he could shed light on the relationship between the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, and on events in Afghanistan in the months leading up to the suicide attacks on the United States.

Mr Mutmain, 36, is believed to have been a close acquaintance of Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban's leader. He is a former kung fu champion and held exhibitions of the martial art for Mullah Omar.

A senior official at the Interior Ministry of the Afghan interim administration said: "We would very much like to see this man returned so that he can be questioned and face justice."

The family now renting Mr Mutmain's house in Kabul said his wife and three children left for Peshawar three weeks ago, and were intending to join him in Britain. Hafizullah Nooristani, a former colleague at the Ministry of Commerce, said: "Whatever he is doing in Britain, he will be making money."

Mr Mutmain was, in effect, third in command of the Ministry of Commerce at the time when the Taliban used it to channel drug profits from the heroin trade to its armed forces.