In quotes: Carol Barnes tributes

Tributes have been paid to former ITV news presenter Carol Barnes who died aged 63, after suffering a stroke.

CAROL BARNES' SON, JAMES

"My mum was a beautiful, kind and delicate person - a person loved by many and whom I am desperately proud to call my mother.

She did everything in her power to love, care and provide for me, my sister and all those close to her.

I am eternally indebted to her for what she has given us. I will always love her and she will forever be in my heart."

CAROL BARNES' FORMER PARTNER, DENIS MACSHANE

"Carol bred affection, warmth, political acuteness and humanity wherever she lived and worked.

Losing our daughter Clare was a terrible blow but she recovered her bounce and joy for life and last time we talked she was full of plans for the future and love for James.

Her so sudden death robbed a massive network of friends of one of the best."

GORDON BROWN, PRIME MINISTER

"The whole country will be saddened to hear the news of Carol Barnes' death, and our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues.

She was a great broadcaster and an incisive interviewer, and she will be greatly missed."

DERMOT MURNAGHAN, SKY NEWS PRESENTER

"She couldn't have been kinder, more helpful and caring to someone like me.

I was in awe of the mighty Carol Barnes and she was just so down to earth, so helpful but, above all, so professional. She was a down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving, unselfish individual who was extremely inspirational to many."

STEWART PURVIS, ITN'S FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE

"Even though Carol's death seemed inevitable it's still a very, very sad day at such a comparatively young age for somebody who was still absolutely full of life and vigour and excitement.

And all her friends are mourning her - 'Barnesy' as she used to be known - at ITN, so many happy memories both professionally and also socially in the extraordinary world that television news was in those days."

ALISTAIR STEWART, ITV NEWS PRESENTER

"Barnesy was a rare creature - as capable on location as she was in the studio.

Her public face was that of the polished professional. Privately she was just a lovely, generous and delightful person.

Despite all that life threw at her she remained great fun to be with we shall miss her very much indeed."

PETER SISSONS, BBC NEWS PRESENTER

"Carol's death has left all her friends in broadcasting that much poorer. I am just so proud to have known and worked with her.

Compelling on-screen authority, the complete professional, and always totally feminine. Despite her personal heartbreak her smile always lit up a room."

NICHOLAS OWEN, BBC PRESENTER

"Carol Barnes came over on air as thoroughly down-to-earth, thoroughly straightforward.

You might almost use the world ordinary, but I don't think she was quite that but she was certainly never aggressive with people.

So people could like her, viewers could like her, and they were right to like her, because that was the person she was off-screen, as well as on-screen."

ED MITCHELL, FORMER NEWSCASTER

"It's very, very upsetting news. She was a good friend and a good colleague over some 20 years.

She was extremely sympathetic to my problems at the time of the documentary [about his battle with alcoholism].

She was willing me to succeed. It's just so awful to learn that she isn't now here."

ROY GREENSLADE, FORMER EDITOR OF THE DAILY MIRROR

"I think as a news presenter what she brought to it was an intelligence, because she had that way I think of suggesting it was more than simply reading aloud.

She understood what she was saying, what she was doing, and she was a very tactful and good interviewer.

Not one of those who was a kind of a savage or a rottweiler, but somebody who could get the best out of an interview simply by asking the right questions."