Tributes to Sky executive killed with daughter in boat tragedy

Nick Milligan, 51, the managing director of Sky’s advertising sales division, Sky Media, was declared dead at the scene in Padstow, Cornwall, on Sunday afternoon along with his daughter, Emily.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Max Milligan also paid tribute to his “delightful niece”.

Detective Superintendent Jim Colwell said that Mr Milligan’s 39-year-old wife Victoria and their four-year-old son Kit remain in hospital with “serious, potentially life-changing injuries”, while their two other daughters Amber, 12, and Olivia, ten, suffered minor injuries in the accident.

Max Milligan said: “Nick, or Nico as he was known to us, was an extremely loving father and husband.

“As children and teenagers we spent many summers and New Year’s Eves at New Polzeath here in Cornwall and a few years ago he built his dream home above Daymer Bay. That he and my delightful niece died at their favourite place at the end of a gloriously sunny bank holiday weekend provides us with a tiny glimmer of light.

“I’d like to thank Devon and Cornwall Police and all the staff at Derriford Hospital who have been incredible over the last few days.”

The family, from Wandsworth, south-west London, were on holiday when they were thrown from the boat which went “out of control” and struck them.

Waterskiing instructor Charlie Toogood has been hailed a hero after he leapt into the speedboat to turn off its engine and stop it from causing further harm. A second man, Will Jones, also came to their rescue.

Det Supt Colwell said: “Without the brave and heroic efforts of local people and holidaymakers in the minutes immediately after this incident in assisting the family whilst they were in the water ... I’m confident that this incident would have been far worse in terms of the overall death toll.”

Det Supt Colwell said the presence of a ‘’kill cord’’ – a safety device to ensure a boat’s engine is cut if the person in control goes overboard – would form a “key focus” of the investigation.

He told reporters: “Clearly the reasons why the boat didn’t stop when it otherwise should have done, when there was nobody left on it, is a key part of our investigation. The kill cord – the presence of, the state of, and how it was attached or otherwise – will be a key focus of our investigation.”

Matt Pavitt, from the North Cornwall Coastguard, said two kayakers and at least three other vessels went to the aid of the family “within minutes”.

“One of the kayakers actually managed to manoeuvre their kayak in between the boat while it was still circling to provide aid to some people incredibly quickly,” he said. Mr Pavitt said another boat operator then jumped on board to bring it under control.

“Purely and simply I think he realised the severity of the situation,” he added. “I would ask that the individual is left without too much pursuance from the Press at this time because it’s obviously sinking in the enormity of what he achieved yesterday.”

Mr Pavitt also said: “We really must pay credit to those boat operators for the outstanding work that they did and without a doubt, without the intervention of the one individual who managed to get on board the vessel we could have been dealing with a far more serious situation than we are today.”