Daughter Clare Barnes (with former government minister Denis MacShane) died in a tragic parachute accident in Australia.
She was one of the original journalists for LBC (London Broadcasting Company), an independent local radio station founded in 1973. Before this, she worked as a teacher.
After joining ITN in 1975, she covered the Brixton riots in 1981 while she was seven months pregnant.
She became disillusioned with teaching, and went on to a variety of jobs, including public relations at the Royal Court Theatre and assistant editor at "Time Out" magazine.