FRIENDS of a former Kent school teacher who was killed in a suspected suicide car bombing in the Arab state of Qatar have expressed sadness and shock at his death.

For many years Jonathan Adams, who was in his fifties, taught at Borden Grammar School at Sittingbourne.

Mrs Pat Morton, who helped to start the Avenue Theatre at Sittingbourne with Mr Adams, said: "I’m totally shell-shocked. He helped to found the Avenue Theatre about 20 years ago."

Mr Adams, who liked to be known as Jon, was directing Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night for the Doha Players at a theatre in the Quatari capital Doha when the attack happened on Saturday.

Garth Spann, current chairman of the Avenue Theatre, said: "He was a great influence to all at our theatre and we are really saddened by this news. We have sent our condolences via the Doha Players to his wife Rosemarie and his family."

Mr Adams was a former head of English literature at Borden Grammar School. He left the school in 1992. He and his wife had lived in Albany Road, Sittingbourne, and had been living in Sri Lanka before going to Doha.

Mr Spann added: "Jon was part of the initially set-up of the Avenue Theatre and was the artistic director during 1989 to 1992. He helped to put theatre on the map by bringing in the Comedy Club, among other things."

A Metroplitan Police spokesman confirmed that an anti-terrorism squad was travelling to Doha at the Qatar authority’s request to help investigate the bombing.

Qatar’s interior minister was quoted on the Aljazeera website as blaming an Egyptian militant for carrying out the attack on the theatre.

Mr Adams taught at Borden Grammar School for almost 20 years and headteacher Harold Vafeas told KM-FM that former students were already getting in touch...