Autonomy tycoon's guard pays tribute to 'genuine and loving' family

The armed guard assigned to Mike Lynch while he faced fraud charges has described how close he became to the "loving" tech entrepreneur and his family.

- Emily Dugan

Appointed by the court, Rolo Igno, said he was supposed to stay distant but that the professional relationship "quickly dissolved" when Lynch invited him to spend time with his family.

Lynch and six others were killed when his luxury superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily early on Monday after it was struck by a powerful storm wind called a downburst.

Lynch had been celebrating his acquittal from fraud charges relating to the £8.6bn sale of his software company Autonomy to HewlettPackard in 2011.

He was cleared in June after a trial at a federal court in San Francisco, California.

In an interview with the Press Association, Igno said he had the "privilege" of spending "almost every waking moment" with Lynch while he was in custody in San Francisco. "As an executive protection agent, the number one rule is simple, don't ever get close to the principal," he said.