The statement from the Guerin family:
WE are saddened to see the inquest of the death of Veronica used as an occasion of recrimination over the circumstances of her murder.
It goes without saying that Veronica's death affected us all deeply, and the family's sense of loss continues. But it is our belief that statements such as that made by Jimmy Guerin only serve to exacerbate our grief.
We fully share Jimmy's sentiments that every effort should be made to ensure that a tragedy such as this does not occur again and that the lessons learned from it should he applied to protecting the lives of all investigative journalists.
We totally repudiate the inference in today's statement that Veronica was no more than a pawn in the hands of her employers.
On the contrary, she was a dedicated and determined journalist, committed and serious about her profession, whose courage in pursuing her vocation received worldwide recognition, both before and after her murder.
That is the Veronica we knew and loved. We do not recognise the picture of Veronica painted in Jimmy Guerin's statement.
Signed: Graham Turley,
(husband),
Martin Guerin,
(brother),
Marie-Therese Branagan (sister),
Clare O'Brien,
(sister).