Shoe bomb accused's mother 'deeply shocked'
The alleged ‘‘shoe bomber’’ Richard Reid was today preparing to appear in a US court as his parents spoke of their shock that he had apparently tried to bring down a passenger plane.
His mother Lesley Hughes, of Frome, Somerset, last night released a statement through an unnamed firm of Bristol-based solicitors.
‘‘Other than what my client has heard or read in the media, she has no knowledge of this matter,’’ the statement said.
‘‘As any mother would be, she is deeply shocked and concerned about the allegations made against her son, but has no further comment to make.’’
Ms Hughes was speaking as her 28-year-old son prepared to face a US court today when a federal judge is expected to set his bail.
He is accused of trying to ignite explosives hidden in his black suede basketball sneakers during an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami earlier this month.
His father, Robin Reid, who is still believed to live in London, said his son must have been ‘‘coaxed’’ into the alleged bomb attack.
‘‘My son is a determined boy and I can imagine him being determined enough to blow himself to bits,’’ he said.
But he said could not believe his son would want to hurt anyone else unless he had been ‘‘brainwashed’’.
He said he only found out about his son’s involvement when he saw his picture printed in newspapers on Christmas Eve.
Reid visited seven countries before his suspected attempt to blow up the American Airlines flight, it was reported today.
He is believed to have visited Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris and possibly Afghanistan, according to reports.
He is also thought to have spent 10 days in Israel after flying on El Al.
An El Al spokesman said that he flew to Israel with the airline in July.
Reid was considered high risk and had his luggage, person and shoes checked before he was allowed to board the plane.
US officials are investigating claims that Reid, formerly of Brixton, south London, may have visited the terror training camps of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.
The claims came as it emerged that Reid had attended a mosque in Brixton, where he had aroused suspicions because of his interest in jihad, or holy war, and his increasingly radical beliefs.
Mosque leader Abdul Haqq Baker said Reid worshipped in Brixton from 1995, when he left prison, but had disappeared at the end of 1998. He was believed to have been in Pakistan earlier this year.
Mr Baker said he had given police the names of other individuals the mosque was worried about in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
A senior member of the Metropolitan Police Authority said that allegations that police ignored warnings that extremists were recruiting from London mosques ‘‘may be correct’’.
The authority’s deputy chairman Peter Herbert said: ‘‘There is no room for complacency. It is possible mistakes were made.’’
Mr Herbert continued: ‘‘In general terms, with the benefit of hindsight, many things that may have been looked at with more scrutiny after September 11 were not looked in such a way beforehand.’’
He said ‘‘thousands’’ of pieces of information were passed to the force in the wake of the terrorist attacks and the authority recognised that lessons needed to be learned.
It was not known if any information was given about Reid, but Mr Herbert said it was possible that it would not have been acted upon if the man was not considered to be a risk or to have dangerous connections.
Reid attended the Brixton mosque at the same time as the alleged ‘‘20th hijacker’’, Zacarias Moussaoui, who US authorities believe was meant to be on one of the hijacked planes on September 11.
It is not known if the two men met. French newspaper Le Parisien reported that French investigators believe Reid was given his specially modified basketball sneakers in Amsterdam, not Afghanistan.
Reid was believed to have travelled to Pakistan in August with the intention of travelling on to Afghanistan, but there is not understood to be any evidence to suggest he reached Afghanistan.
At least one Afghan prisoner in America has recognised a photograph of Reid, but the claim has not yet been confirmed by US authorities.
Reid, also known as Abdel Rahim, travelled in Israel and Egypt before applying for a new British passport in Brussels on December 7, it was reported.
On December 14 he was given the shoes in Amsterdam and he bought his plane ticket two days later in Paris.
He missed a flight to Miami on December 21 when he was stopped by Paris airport police, but caught the American Airlines flight on Saturday.
An air stewardess raised the alarm when she spotted Reid holding a match near his shoes, which were allegedly packed with explosives and detonator cords.
Le Monde newspaper reported that Reid had worked as a dish-washer in London but had a large amount of cash in francs and US dollars when he was arrested. He was known to have worked in an incense shop in Brixton.
The Prison Service refused to confirm reports that he had a string of convictions for petty crime, including mugging, or that he had served at least one prison sentence, including a spell at Feltham Young Offenders Institution in west London.
Inspector Paul Martin, of the Metropolitan Police, said Reid’s aunt Claudette Law had been in touch with police but would not be returning to her home in Brixton for at least a few days.
