Son of Singapore's first premier given asylum in UK after persecution claims

A senior member of the family that has dominated Singapore since independence in 1965 has been granted asylum in the UK after fleeing what he said was a campaign of persecution.

- Tom Burgis, Amy Hawkins

Lee Hsien Yang told the Guardian that the authoritarian regime founded by his father turned on him because he endorsed an opposition party after a family rift.

"Despite the very advanced economic prosperity that Singapore has, there's a dark side to it, that the government is repressive," he said.

"What people think, that this is some kind of paradise - it isn't."

Under the rule of his brother, who was prime minister for 20 years until May, Lee Hsien Yang claims the authorities used what he called baseless allegations against him, his wife and his son to bring a series of legal actions. He said: "[This] escalated to the point where I believe for my own personal safety I should not continue to live in Singapore." In a system that brooks little dissent, a ruling elite that prides itself on its reputation for probity is rarely denounced so thoroughly-especially by one of its own.

Singapore's financial system has in recent years repeatedly played a part in international corruption scandals.

Lee Hsien Yang said: "People need to look beyond Singapore's bold, false assertions and see what the reality really is like." He added: "There is a need for the world to look more closely, to see Singapore's role as that key facilitator for arms trades, for dirty money, for drug monies, crypto money."

A Singapore government spokesperson said the country had "a robust system to deter and tackle money laundering and other illicit financial flows", pointing to its favourable ranking in Transparency International's corruption perception index, well above the UK.