The husband of the eighth British victim of the Sri Lanka attacks to be named has paid tribute to his wife as “a real tour de force”.
Lorraine Campbell, 55, known as Loz, was killed in the bombing of the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo. Originally from Manchester, she had been living in Dubai and was in Sri Lanka for a business trip.
Her husband, Neil, said: “Lorraine was a real tour de force, she epitomised the qualities she lived by, and was a conduit for bringing people together to both make things happen, and make them better.
“I’ve lost my best friend in the world for all the adventures we shared and planned for the future.
“I, Lorraine’s family and friends are in a state of disbelief and grief for what has happened and, as such, would respectfully ask that our privacy at this difficult time is respected.”
Her family gave a statement, which said: “Lorraine, known to most people as Loz, was a woman who embraced life to the full, and meant so much to so many people and there will forever be an enormous void that will never now be filled.
“Loz was a wife, mother, sister and aunt, and a close friend to so many people, having risen through the ranks of the IT world, working in multiple cities in the UK and abroad.”
Police in Colombo have detained 58 people in connection with the bombings, claimed by Islamic State, while specialist officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command have been sent to the country to support the bereaved and Scotland Yard has asked for any images or video taken during the attacks.
Other British victims were Anita Nicholson, her son Alex, 14, and daughter Annabel, 11, who died when one of seven suicide bombers struck as they ate breakfast at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo.
Londoner Matthew Linsey’s daughter Amelie, 15, and son Daniel, 19, were killed in the same blast on the final day of their holiday.
GP Sally Bradley and her husband Bill Harrop, a retired firefighter, from Manchester, died in the Cinnamon Grand hotel bombing.
• This article was amended on 25 April 2019. Lorraine Campbell was in Colombo for a business trip not a holiday, as an earlier version said.
