Emilie Harris's parents, Martin and June, were not at court today but made the following tribute: "Emilie was, and is still, deeply loved by her family and she is greatly missed. There is not a day that passes when we do not think about her and wish that she was still with us.

"Emilie was outgoing, intelligent with a zany sense of humour and a wide range of interests. Her loss was devastating to us and has transformed our lives. The veil of sadness associated with her loss is permanent.

"Emilie had been made charities representative for her college the week before she was killed.

"Together with Emilie's friends from college we have set up a charity called Emilie's Charities to support, in Emilie's name, projects of which Emilie would have approved, involving poor children in developing countries.

"Although we had attended the preliminary hearings for this case, when the date of today's hearing was set, unfortunately we had already made arrangements and have been visiting one of the orphanages being supported by Emilie's Charities.

"We trust that the result of this trial will be an increased awareness of road safety for cyclists in Oxford, so that tragic losses such as that of Emilie do not occur in the future."