Identity of shoe bomb accused still not known - FBI

The FBI is still investigating the true identity of the airline passenger accused of trying to ignite explosives in his shoes, as British officials said he was born in the UK.

The suspect appeared in a US court on holding charges as Richard C Reid - the name on the British passport he was travelling under on the transatlantic flight on Saturday.

A spokesman for the FBI, which is leading the investigation, says the man's identity has not been determined and is still under investigation.

However George Fergusson, consul general for the British Consulate in Boston, said Reid's British passport appeared to be valid.

"We have no reason to believe it is not legitimate," he said.

"His passport says he was born in the United Kingdom, in England," he said. A more specific birthplace was not available.

The accused man's exact background remains a mystery days after he boarded an aircraft flying from Paris to Miami, which had to be diverted to Boston when was overpowered by airline staff and passengers.

The FBI and Scotland Yard has refused to comment on comments by French officials that the man may be known to British police for petty theft offences.

On Monday, Scotland Yard and the Foreign Office said they believed the man to be British while the Sri Lankan government has dismissed suggestions he was one of its citizens.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo said there was no evidence that the man was Sri Lankan. The statement came after French authorities initially identified the man as a Sri Lankan named Tariq Raja.