THE mother of Jermaine Lindsay said last night that she was horrified that the “best son she could have ever hoped for” could be responsible for the deadly suicide bomb attack earlier this month.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Maryam McCleod Ismaiyl, 39, said she was mystified as to why her son, originally from Jamaica, would carry out such an “horrific” attack.

Dressed in a burka, through which only her bespectacled eyes could be seen, she said: “I don’t know whether that was my son. Neither I nor his wife have been able to identify him.”

In a press conference at the Tropicana Restaurant in St George’s, Grenada, she read from a prepared statement often pausing to compose herself. Flanked by her Grenadian husband, Kenny John, and her lawyer, she sobbed as she said: “I am still in shock and know not how to grieve for my son.

“Therefore, I grieve first for the victims, ones who are dead and ones who are alive. I grieve for the mothers and fathers, the individuals who are now possibly traumatised by the visions of death and horror. May Allah forgive our living and our dead and have mercy upon us all. Amen.”

Lindsay, 19, who had been living in Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, detonated his explosives, crammed into a rucksack, at King’s Cross Station. The blast killed him and 26 commuters.

He had adopted the name Jamal when he converted to Islam. He later married Samantha Lewthwaite, who also converted to Islam, and the couple had a child. Mrs Ismaiyl added that her son converted to Islam shortly after she joined the faith four years ago. She said she had seen him last year: “I respected and admired him so very much because he was so responsible when I last saw him. He was a loving brother to two sisters, the most loving father to Abdullah and a husband who loved his wife, Samantha, dearly.

“I need evidence to believe that my baby could ever harm anyone, let alone kill, injure and traumatise a community.”

Asked if she knew whether Jermaine had ever visited Pakistan or had links with any extremists, she said that they had travelled extensively. However, she failed to directly answer whether she was aware if he had been to Pakistan. Lindsay’s mother maintained that Islam is not about killing people but was devoted to doing good.

“The religion that I love and practised with Jamal is a religion of peace and justice, it is a balanced religion that does not condone or entertain extremism. Extremism is a newly invented matter and all newly invented matters lead to the hell’s fire.

“My family and I have been co-operating with the authorities and we urge anyone who has information that may help to come forward.”

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