The former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, Dr Ian Paisley, has died at the age of 88.
Baroness Paisley said in a statement that her 'beloved husband' had 'entered his eternal rest' on Friday morning.
The statement added: "Although ours is the grand hope of reunion, naturally as a family we are heartbroken," she said. "We loved him and he adored us, and our earthly lives are forever changed."
Protestant preacher Dr Paisley's career spanned 40 years, and he rose to the position of Northern Ireland's first minister.
He entered a power-sharing executive at Stormont with Sinn Fein - despite the fact he had supported the strike to bring one down 30 years earlier.
The Nottingham Post spoke to Dr Paisley in 2009 for an article to mark the 20th anniversary of the Kegworth air disaster.
He had spent the evening of the crash at Belfast Airport with the friends and family of the Boeing 737-400 passengers, waiting to hear who had survived.
Speaking to the Post, he said: "It was a very sad time. I went to each family as they sat together and had a prayer and spoke a word of comfort to them. They'll never forget the long waiting, and the gulps of 'Thank God' when they heard their friends were saved and the cries and the agony when they heard that their loved ones were killed.
"It's an undescribable position, you couldn't describe what it was like... the sobbing and tears and the screams."
He told the Post that he didn't sleep that night, and the next day Dr Paisley flew to England with them to visit the survivors at all the hospitals, including the Queen's Medical Centre.
He said: "Some of them were pretty severely injured and others were not so badly injured and others had serious effects – nervousness and fears.
"It was a very monumentous occasion and one that you never forget."
He knew people on the plane – some survived but some died. He added: "A man and his wife who I knew were both killed and people may forget it, but those that have loved ones who were killed or injured will never forget it."More to follow
