May God the Highest and Most Merciful keep her in a beautiful place. I pray that God gives her family and friends patience during this difficult period- Ameen….

Margaret was honestly a beacon of optimism and humanity. I never once heard her complain about her situation and she always had time for everyone. Margaret was the one who always broke the ice in otherwise unnervingly quiet lift journeys in GMH and was someone who simply humbled us all with her courage, compassion and sense of humour. On top of being a consummate professional in her field and relentlessly hard working. I for one, will miss her very much and always remember her….

I worked with Margaret on and off since 2006. The other messages in this book say it all – she was incredibly valued by everyone who worked with her. She was an amazingly inspiring woman, she demanded high standards of work from herself and from all of us who worked with her, she managed to be tactfully forthright (she was a master at the subtle ‘hmmm…’ whenever I suggested something she didn’t agree with), and she was passionate about developing all of us as individuals. And it’s the personal touch, the humanness, that I will miss the most….

It’s hard to put into words how much Margaret is already missed and will be missed in the future. I was lucky enough to have regular meetings with her over the last three or four years, and I always looked forward to them.  I think she made everyone there laugh every single time, even when it was a super-serious meeting. She knew so much and explained everything so well. I learned lots from her over the years and will miss her greatly. I can only imagine how difficult it is without her there for those who worked so much more closely with her than I did. She was an incredibly caring person and was always willing to find time for a call or email chat, and always wanted to know how everyone was, even though she had the busiest diary in the world.  I hope her family and friends get a sense of how loved she was at work from all these posts and I’m so sorry for your loss.    Louise x …

Margaret welcomed me into her team at the start of the year with such support and warmth. I soon realised that she had an unlimited capacity for looking out for and supporting others – both in her team, and championing the voice of others through her work. She was as knowledgeable as she was personable, and has left behind quite the legacy. I never had the opportunity to meet Margaret in person but, even in the short time I knew her, she had a real impact and left me with fond memories. x…

Margaret was amazing. As a person she was so engaging, thoughtful and easy to talk to – but also an incredibly strong and powerful person. The depth of her knowledge was phenomenal, as was her clarity of thought. Her impact clearly spread very widely across the transport community, and she was able to drive change inside and outside DfT. She has left a huge gap that no one person could fill. We miss her a lot….

I was fortunate to work with Margaret on and off for many years. She was a stalwart of the DfT Analyst Community who took pride in her work, her team and the stats and social research professions. She was a force to be reckoned with – never afraid to share her opinion or to challenge when necessary, and to defend her work and that of her her team. Most importantly she always did so in a constructive and collegiate way. She worked hard, but always made time for a chat and to help others and never complained. Her boots will be very tough to fill, but more than that Margaret will be very much missed by all in the department who knew her and I am very grateful to have had the chance to work with her. …

I always enjoyed working with Margaret, and particularly our less formal chats in the corridor and in passing. She was a complete expert, made policy better with her insights and was a fantastic colleague. Basically she was fabulous, and was an incredibly proud Mum, Nicole. She will be very much missed….

I worked with Margaret for many years and she made me feel immediately welcome when I joined the team. She was really passionate about her work and I’ll always remember her championing and supporting us as a team in everything we did. Margaret was an amazing leader and mentor and I’ll be forever grateful for her support, advice and guidance.   Working alongside Margaret was an absolute pleasure. She was always so warm, funny, kind and generous and will be sorely missed….

Margaret welcomed me to the Rail Analysis team when I joined four years ago. We often sat near each other sharing news and anecdotes. She was always happy to chat about the work of her team and point me in the right direction when I needed information or a discussion about rail statistics, rail research or rail evaluation. We will all miss her – it was always lovely to see her in the office and more recently online. My thoughts go to her family. Ann…

I had the pleasure of working with Margaret through our respective roles at DfT and ORR. During that time, I chaired the Rail Statistics Management Group and it was always a much richer place when Margaret accepted the invite. In her customary honest manner, she could always be relied upon to spark the discussion and I often caught a glimpse of a mischievous glint in her eye. Margaret played a huge role in helping us to improve rail industry statistics over the last decade, always striving for us to do more, do it better and make the industry more transparent. Outside of work, Margaret was tremendously kind and I will always remember the cuddly toy elephant she presented to me on behalf of the DfT rail stats team for my first born. That kind gesture spoke volumes for Margaret as a person and she will be sorely missed.   …

Margaret was a great friend to me. We met over thirteen years ago. On my first day I saw her across the office, corralling her team around some aspect of complex statistics with obvious patience and kindness. One of my first projects was with Margaret. She tried to explain the challenges of counting the numbers of passengers coming into cities, when it wasn’t clear where people were boarding and alighting and we worked together to build better models of passenger demand and provide evidence for a multi year pipeline of government investment that is still being used now. From then on we became friends. Occasional visits to the Royal Oak and the Loosebox and frequent chats in the DfT basement canteen cemented our friendship. We had many belly-laughs as we shared different perspectives on office life, especially a unique take on women in rail. We also shared our experiences of working and bringing up a family. Margaret’s daughter Nicole was the oldest of our combined brood, and stories of her amazing achievements at school and college provided inspiration (and awe) of Margaret’s family life. Margaret will always hold a special place in my heart as a friend and an…

I only worked with Margaret a short while, but in that time I was struck by her kindness, patience, professionalism and clarity of vision. Margaret was a pleasure to work alongside and learn from, and her presence will be sorely missed.  With deepest sympathy,  Elena            …

I worked with Margaret at ONS in the early 2000s before we both made the switch to rail. I enjoyed catching up with her when our paths crossed and looked forward to seeing her at the meetings we both attended. As many others have said, she always showed kindness, professionalism and a sense of fun in large and equal measure….

Margaret was a brilliant friend and colleague, and the world is a more rubbish place without her. She was the best sort of civil servant – fiercely wedded to doing what was right rather than what was easy, never afraid to speak up, and always striving to make things better for people (passengers and her colleagues). She was fun, funny and caring, and always willing to find time to offer a kind ear no matter how long or busy her day was (and they were always too long and too busy!). I’m so sorry for your loss, Nicole. She was so proud of you. I’m really glad I got to meet you at Wimbledon, and that my lasting memory of Margaret is of her happy and relaxed, with champagne in hand….