Desolation of British father who lost whole family in attacks
Lawyer issues tribute to wife and children as eight Britons are confirmed dead with toll expected to rise
AT LEAST eight Britons have been confirmed dead in the Sri Lankan terrorist atrocity, with scores of victims yet to be identified.
It was feared the death toll could rise further as many of those injured in the blasts remained in a critical condition.
Last night, Ben Nicholson, a British lawyer, confirmed that his wife, Anita and both of his children, Alex, 14, and Annabel, 11, were among the dead.
Billy Harrop, 56, a retired firefighter, and his wife Sally, originally from Manchester, were killed.
A British teenage brother and sister also died in the attack, it was revealed last night.
And it emerged that Anders Holch Povlsen, a Danish billionaire and the UK’S largest private landowner, had lost three of his four children.
Mr Nicholson, who was a partner with the law firm Kennedys, based in Singapore, last night paid tribute to his family in a moving statement. He said his wife and children “lit up any room they entered”, adding that they had been enjoying a wonderful holiday together when the terrorists struck.
The Nicholson family had been sitting down to breakfast at the fivestar Shangri La hotel, when a suicide bomber detonated his device.
Mr Nicholson, who is originally from Essex, survived with only minor injuries.
Paying tribute to his family, he said: “I am deeply distressed at the loss of my wife and children. Anita was a wonderful, perfect wife and a brilliant, loving and inspirational mother to our two wonderful children. The holiday we had just enjoyed was a testament to Anita’s enjoyment of travel and providing a rich and colourful life for our family, and especially our children.
“Alex and Annabel were the most amazing, intelligent, talented and thoughtful children and Anita and I were immensely proud of them both and looking forward to seeing them develop into adulthood.
“They shared with their mother the priceless ability to light up any room they entered and bring joy to the lives of all they came into contact with.”
Among the other British victims, Mr Harrop and his wife Sally had also been on holiday in Sri Lanka, when the terrorists attacked.
The couple died instantly, but their son, Gavin, who was understood to be on holiday with them, survived.
Mr Harrop was a highly respected firefighter who had been celebrated for his heroism during the IRA bombings of Manchester in 1996.
It is understood that he had recently retired and had pursued his lifelong dream of emigrating to Australia.
It was also revealed last night that Daniel Linsey, 19 and his younger sister Amelie, 15, were among the victims.
The siblings were having breakfast with their father Matthew at the luxury Shangri-la Hotel.
Mr Linsey, 63, an American city fund manager, returned to the family home in London, yesterday to be with his British wife Angelina, 51, and his other two children – sons aged 12 and 21 – who were not on the holiday.
The trio survived the first blast, but
were caught up in a second explosion. Mr Linsey told The Times: “You can’t describe how bad it was. People were screaming. I was with my children. I couldn’t tell whether they were all right, it was dark. I was worried there would be another blast. We ran out – another blast.”
Both children were knocked out in the explosion, forcing Mr Linsey to take his son to hospital, as his daughter had no obvious wounds, but they both died. Daniel and Amelie were born in Britain but had dual US and UK citizenship on account of their father.
Mr Povlsen, the fashion tycoon behind the online clothing retailer Asos, lost three of his four children in the attack. Mr Povlsen, 46, is Denmark’s wealthiest man and Britain’s largest private landowner after buying up 13 estates in Scotland.
Three days before the attacks, Mr Povlsen’s daughter Alma posted an image of her siblings Astrid, Agnes and Alfred in front of a swimming pool lined by palm trees.
The billionaire and his wife Anne,
who keep a low public profile, have not said which of their three children died in the attack. However, it is understood that his two eldest daughters and his five-year-old son, Alfred, were killed.
The tragedy occurred less than a week after he published an impassioned open letter setting out his ambitions for the 220,000 acres of land he owns north of the Border.
In the letter, he said he hoped his children would be able to continue the “rewilding” project he had begun in Scotland.
Mr Povlsen, who has a net worth of £6.1 billion, has spent more than £100 million buying up a dozen estates, including Glenfeshire in the Cairngorms, which he mentioned in last week’s open letter as home.
He wrote: “Both Anne and myself, our children and our parents too, have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape.”
Referring to his rewilding project, he said that “we know cannot be realised in our lifetime, which will bear fruit not just for our own children but also for the generations of visitors who, like us, hold a deep affection the Scottish Highlands.”
Last night, Dean Haydon, Britain’s most senior counter terror officer and the deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said that his officers were working with the Foreign Office to assist those families who had been affected.
He also urged places of worship in the UK to stay vigilant amid the ongoing international terror threat.
Mr Haydon said: “Officers across the UK regularly engage with communities of all faiths, giving advice on how people and places can protect themselves and this work will continue.
He added: “We stand together with Sri Lankan communities and all those affected, who have been left shocked and horrified by these attacks.”
At least 38 foreign nationals were thought to be among the dead, but the severity of the blast injuries meant few of them had been formally identified, officials said, at a Colombo mortuary housing scores of bodies.
Further identifications are expected in the coming days as more relatives begin to arrive in the country.
An Interpol team of forensic and identification experts was last night being assembled after a Sri Lankan request for help.
Staff at Colombo’s national hospital had worked through the night tending to the wounded from the blasts, Dr Kumar Wickramasinghe, its director general said, but it was feared the death toll would rise.