Bin Laden's son battling for UK visa

One of Osama bin Laden’s sons is planning a legal challenge in the UK after being refused entry to to live with his British wife, a former parish councillor, she said today.

Omar Ossama bin Ladin was told his visa application had been turned down at the British Embassy in Cairo because of suggestions he could still be loyal to his father, the most wanted man in the world.

The 27-year-old currently lives in Cairo with his wife Zaina Alsabah-bin Ladin, formerly known as Jane Felix-Browne, a 52-year-old grandmother-of-five.

But the couple hope to move to her home in the village of Moulton, near Northwich in Cheshire, where she was a member of the parish council until recently.

Mrs bin Ladin, who is severely visually impaired, said she needs access to medical treatment here but refuses to be apart from her husband.

Speaking from the Egyptian capital she said: “It is a lovely place and we have a really nice home, the problem is it’s not ’home’.

“Home is where you have family and my home is in England... we are happy here but it’s not what we want.”

She added: “He has not been banned from coming, he has got three chances to appeal, he has two chances through an appeal judge and one through the European Court of Human Rights.”

The couple say the application was finally turned down earlier this month after a six-month wait after an Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) judged that it might not be “conducive to the public good”.

The ECO added: “I note that statements made during recent media interviews indicate evidence of continuing loyalty to your father who is ultimately held responsible for the London bombing in July 2005 and your presence in the UK could, therefore, cause considerable public concern.”

It is thought the official was referring to comments from Mr bin Ladin that he could not prove 100% that his father – who he says he has not seen since he was 19 years old – was responsible for September 11 or the London bombings.

Mr bin Ladin has publicly condemned terrorism. His wife said his comments on proof simply referred to the fact that he had no direct evidence of his father’s involvement.

She insisted her husband had been able to travel freely through Italy, Belgium, Austria and France earlier this year on a visa granting him entry to the EU’s Schengen Agreement countries.

During the most recent trip they parted briefly so she could enter Britain alone to visit a doctor.

“Refusal decisions in such cases are not normally based on evidence obtained from newspaper articles and reports,” a statement drafted by the couple’s lawyer, Amjad Malik, said.

“In fact they must be made on accurate facts, rules of immigration and the law of the land.

“However the reasoning given in the decision by the ECO on April 17 2008 is not just and is arbitrary.”

It goes on: “Omar was fit to travel to Europe and not seen as a threat to public good within the Schengen States.

“(It) seems that an individual’s rights have been overridden by newspaper articles and his biological relation relationship to his father.

“It is not denied that he is the son of Mr bin Laden and is a Saudi National, however, that should not be the sole reason for refusal as this is discriminatory because he has no control over choosing his parents.”

It concludes: “The family of Omar, Mrs Zaina Alsabah-bin Ladin said that they are being victimised only because of his biological relation to Omar’s father, which is not in his control and despite his good intentions and conduct he is being punished twice.

“But they have full faith in British courts that justice will be done and they are engaging a British law firm to proceed with their appeal.”