Tributes paid to killed cyclist Moira Gemmill Published duration 10 April 2015

image copyright Graham Jepson/V&A image caption Moira Gemmill had been working on delivering major programmes at Windsor Castle

Tributes have been paid to a prominent figure in the London arts world who was killed while cycling in London.

Moira Gemmill was struck by an HGV near the junction of Horseferry Road and Millbank, close to Lambeth Bridge, on Thursday morning.

The 55-year-old joined the Royal Collection Trust as director of capital programmes in February.

Director of the trust Jonathan Marsden said: "We are deeply saddened and shocked by this tragic news."

He added: "In her very short time with us, Moira had become both a good friend and a highly respected colleague, and we shall miss her very greatly."

In her role Ms Gemmill had been working on the delivery of major programmes at Windsor Castle and at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.

Ms Gemmill, who was cycling to her workplace at St James's Palace, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision. She is the fifth cyclist to die on the capital's roads this year.

'We are devastated'

Ms Gemmill, who was a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, spent 13 years at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) as director of design, before leaving in January.

Martin Roth, director of the V&A, said: "We are devastated to hear of the tragic death of our much-loved and respected colleague of many years, Moira Gemmill.

"I cannot overstate Moira's remarkable contribution in making the V&A the global leader in museum design that it is today.

"She will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with her family at this very sad time."

Ms Gemmill had also been a judge for the Architectural Review's (AR) Women in Architecture Awards since their launch in 2011.

AR editor Christine Murray said: "The profession has lost one of its great patrons and champions."

Ms Gemmill grew up in a farming family in Kintyre on the west coast of Scotland and studied graphic design and photography at the Glasgow School of Art.

She went on to work for Aberdeen Art Gallery and in 2011 was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The 40-year-old lorry driver stopped at the crash scene but was not arrested, Scotland Yard said.

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