SUICIDE bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan was "dedicated" to youngsters with whom he worked, it emerged today.
The headteacher of the school where the London bomber worked said today that she found him "hard-working, passionate and dedicated in his work with children".
Khan, 30, of Thornhill Lees, blew up himself and six other people in the Edgware Road blast on July 7.
But a different side to Khan was shown when he worked as a learning mentor at Hillside Primary School in Hunslet, Leeds.
Headteacher Sarah Balfour said she was deeply shocked by what happened.
In a statement she said: "All of us at Hillside are utterly shocked to hear that one of our staff had been responsible for such an horrific act.
"I can assure parents that his conduct gave us no cause for concern while he was with us.
"Sidique was hard-working, passionate and dedicated in his work with children.
"While he was with us he accomplished a great deal in bringing people from different local communities together.
"He was also respected by many parents, who welcomed the contribution he made to their children's learning and development.
"It is difficult to understand how such passion and energy could be corrupted. We are all working hard with parents and pupils to deal with this."
Khan, a married father-of-one, lived in Thornhill with wife Hasina and their baby daughter.
Last week, it emerged that Khan had visited Parliament as a guest of Ms Balfour's husband, Labour MP Jon Trickett.
The local education authority in Leeds said it was releasing more details following the confirmation of Khan as one of the bombers.
A spokesman for Education Leeds said Khan was a learning mentor at Hillside Primary from March, 2001, to December, 2004.
He added: "As with all people involved in work with children, he was subjected to a criminal record background check by the police, which raised no concerns.
"We are providing the school and its pupils with extra support and counselling."
