Hoax Death Nurse's Family Pays Tribute

The family of the nurse who was found dead after taking a hoax call about the Duchess of Cambridge, has thanked the public for their support.

Jacintha Saldanha's loved ones have received messages of condolence from around the world.

Speaking on their behalf, Keith Vaz MP, said: "This is a close family, they are devastated by what has happened, they miss her every moment of every day.

"They are really grateful for the support of the British public and the public overseas for the messages of support and kindness."

Mrs Saldanha's husband Benedict Barboza and her two teenage children stood by the MP as he made the announcement.

Jacintha Saldanha's post-mortem will take place later today.

Mrs Saldanha was found dead on Friday, three days after DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian pretended to be members of the Royal Family asking about the Duchess of Cambridge, who was being treated in hospital for acute morning sickness.

The pair showed their regret in an interview for Channel Nine's 'A Current Affair programme'yesterday.

Mr Christian said: "When we thought about making a call it was going to go for 30 seconds we were going to be hung up on, and that was it. As innocent as that."

Ms Greig said: "We thought a hundred people before us would've tried it. We thought it was such a silly idea and the accents were terrible and not for a second did we expect to speak to Kate let alone have a conversation with anyone at the hospital. We wanted to be hung up on.''

Speaking of hearing the news of Ms Saldanha's death.

Mr Christian said he felt: "Shattered, gutted, heartbroken and obviously you know. Our deepest sympathies are with the family and the friends."

"It was the worst phone call I've ever had in my life,'' said Ms Greig. "There's not a minute that goes by where we don't think about her family and what they must be going through, and the thought that we may have played a part in that is gut-wrenching."

(GK)