London, July 24 (IANS) Jens Breivik, the 70-year-old father of Anders Behring Breivik who lives in rural France, said he was horrified by his son's crime.

He offered condolences to the family and friends of his son's 93 murder victims in Norway where he was expected to travel to assist the police in the probe, The Telegraph reported.

"I view this atrocity with absolute horror," said Breivik, a retired diplomat who worked at the Norwegian embassies in both London and Paris.

"My condolences go out to all those who have suffered because of this. I am in a state of shock and have not recovered," the newspaper quoted him as saying Sunday.

Breivik has been estranged from his son for at least 16 years, and only learnt about the killings when he was browsing the news online.

"When he realised his son was involved he froze and could barely speak," said another family member in France. "He will never come to terms with something like this."

Breivik had three children from a previous marriage - Erik, Jan and Nina - when he met Anders's mother, Wenche Behring, who had a daughter from a previous relationship.

Beivik divorced Wenche when Anders was just one, and went on to marry Tove Vermo, another embassy worker.

As a child, Anders used to visit his father at his flat in Paris, and at a holiday home in Normandy, western France.

They fell out because of Anders's increasingly unruly behaviour as a teenager, The Telegraph said.