Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that young Turks who study in the West come back as “volunteer spies” - even though three of his own children studied in the US.

Speaking at an event in New York, the Turkish leader said: “Those who were sent to the West for education came back with only the West's culture, losing their identity. Those who the country waited for to solve its problems came back as the West's volunteer spies."

Mr Erdogan is the father of four adult children, three of whom have degrees from American universities.

His daughter Esra and son Bilal both did their undergraduate studies at Indiana University, while other daughter Sumeyye has a master’s degree from the university’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.