'I'm to blame' says Reid's father

The London father of shoe bomber Richard Reid said it was his fault that his son turned into a terrorist, it was reported today.

As it emerged that Switzerland had lifted its ban on air passengers carrying knives, Robin Reid, 51, said the years he spent in prison meant he was not there for his son when he needed him, according to The Mirror.

He said: "Look at the father Richard had. I spent 18 years behind bars. That can't have helped, can it?" the report said. "With that kind of childhood, what sort of defence could he put up against lunatic religious fanatics leading him astray?"

Mr Reid said Richard, 28, who is held in the US for allegedly trying to blow up a Paris-Miami flight before Christmas, tried to convert his father to an extreme version of Islam.