Financier’s heart-rending plea after daughter’s quad bike death

FINANCIER Ben Goldsmith has posted a heart-breaking message asking God for his “little girl back” after she was killed in an accident on the family farm.

Iris Goldsmith, 15, died suddenly on Monday afternoon after reportedly becoming trapped when a vehicle she was riding, said to be similar to a quad bike, overturned.

Mr Goldsmith, who is the younger brother of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith and journalist Jemima Khan, wrote on Twitter: “Dear God, please can I have my beautiful, brilliant, kind little girl back, please God.

“And if not, please take extra special care of her. I love her so so much and I’m so proud of her. It hurts me so much I can’t describe.”

The incident on the family farm near the village of North Brewham, Somerset, is not being treated as suspicious.

Iris was the first child of Mr Goldsmith and his ex-wife, Kate Rothschild. They married in 2003, uniting two of Britain’s most wealthy families, but divorced a decade later.

The teenager, who attended Wycombe Abbey, an independent girls’ boarding school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, died at the start of the summer holidays.

The school’s headmistress, Rhiannon Wilkinson, said: “We were all shocked to learn from the family of Iris’s tragic death. We extend our deepest sympathies to her parents and family at this sad, sad time.

“Iris was a much valued and loved member of our school community. She was highly regarded in her House and year group.

“Iris will be hugely missed by all of us at Wycombe Abbey and, in particular, of course, by all her many friends.”