Family of suspect in British soldier's killing condemns his crime

The family of a man suspected of hacking a British soldier to death on a London street condemned the attack as senseless, distancing itself from the murder which has provoked an anti-Muslim backlash.

Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old veteran of the Afghan war, was butchered in broad daylight by two men who said they killed him in the name of Islam. Police shot and wounded the assailants, both Britons of Nigerian descent, at the scene of the crime, which has prompted questions about the security services' ability to prevent attacks of this kind.

In their first public remarks since the murder last Wednesday, relatives of one of the suspects, Michael Adebolajo, a 28-year-old British-born convert from a Christian Nigerian family, said on Tuesday that they felt ashamed and horrified.

"Nothing we say can undo the events of last week," the family said. "However, as a family, we wish to share with others our horror at the senseless killing of Lee Rigby and express our profound shame and distress that this has brought on our family."