Shoe-bomber to plead guilty

A Briton will appear in a US court today to admit trying to bring down a transatlantic flight with powerful explosives hidden in his shoes.

The foiled attempt by Richard Reid came just three months after the September 11 attacks and rattled a public already scared to fly.

Authorities in Boston had prepared for a high profile, high security trial, where the Londoner’s alleged links to Osama bin Laden’s terror network would be laid out.

But the 29-year-old stunned prosecutors this week when he said he wanted to plead guilty to the eight charges against him.

US District Judge William Young scheduled a hearing for today at Reid’s request.

As part of the plea change, Reid asked Young to remove mention of the alleged links to al-Qaida from the indictment.

But US Attorney General John Ashcroft and federal prosecutors in Boston said they will fight the attempt to eliminate the references to the terror network.

In court documents submitted last night, prosecutors said the al-Qaida allegations are supported by witnesses “with personal knowledge of Reid’s presence at al-Qaida training camps” and “corroborating circumstantial evidence”.

Reid, who lost an earlier bid to have the al-Qaida language removed, had argued then that any mention of any alleged ties to the group responsible for the September 11 attacks would prejudice the jury.

But now, since Reid will not go to trial, that argument is moot, prosecutors said in their memorandum.

The original indictment said Reid, a Muslim convert, “received training from al-Qaida in Afghanistan,” but provided no other details.

The FBI has said it believes Reid had help making the bomb from “an al-Qaida bomb maker.” Authorities have also said they found unidentified human hair and a palm print on the explosives.

Prosecutors said Reid was not offered any deal or promise of a lesser sentence. He faces up to life in prison on the eight charges, which include attempted murder of the 197 passengers and crew members on board the December 22 flight.