Derek Draper, husband of Kate Garraway and former political adviser, dies after suffering long-lasting COVID symptoms
Derek Draper, a former political adviser and husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, has died after several years of serious health complications due to coronavirus.
The 56-year-old was said to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering COVID patients, spending 13 months in hospital after contracting the virus in March 2020.
He was left with extensive damage to his organs and needed daily care.
Kate Garraway, with her husband Derek Draper and her parents Gordon and Marilyn Garraway, after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2023
Garraway posted a statement on Instagram this morning saying her “darling husband” had died and she had been “by his side holding his hand throughout his last long hours”.
She confirmed he suffered a heart attack in early December, adding that “the damage inflicted by COVID… led to further complications”.
“I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible,” she said.
“Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”
Garraway’s Good Morning Britain co-stars and other well-known faces shared their condolences under the Instagram post.
“Our whole hearts are with you all,” Susanna Reid said, while Charlotte Hawkins commented: “So desperately sorry Kate, it’s absolutely heartbreaking. So much love to you all.”
Sir Elton John said: “So sorry to hear of this news, Kate. Love and thoughts to you and your family x.”
Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, who Draper worked with in the 1990s, said he was “so sad” to hear about his death.
Kate Garraway with Derek Draper in 2007. Pic: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock
“It is extraordinary and remarkable that Derek survived so long after the ravages of COVID. And that was in large measure due to the love Derek had for his family and they for him. This also says something very special about Derek,” he said.
“He was a tough, sometimes ruthless political operative, a brilliant adviser and someone you always wanted on your side.
“But underneath that tough exterior he was a loving, kind, generous and good natured man you wanted as a friend.”
Alastair Campbell, a fellow prominent New Labour figure, described Derek Draper as “a huge character”.
He posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Very sad to hear the news about Derek Draper. He was a huge character, a giver not a taker, and had so much more to give before COVID took its toll.
“Sad above all for Kate Garraway and the children. Their love and support was profound and unshakeable to the end. RIP.”
Read more:
Elton John and Tony Blair pay tribute to ‘brilliant’ Draper
Draper’s larger than life Labour character will not be forgotten
A prominent figure in New Labour in the 1990s, Draper worked for Blairite Peter Mandelson and set up the Progress organisation with Liam Byrne, who went on to become an MP.
After he was embroiled in the so-called “cash-for-access” scandal, dubbed “lobbygate”, he travelled to the US, where he retrained as a psychotherapist.
Garraway and Draper married in 2005, and have two children together. They celebrated their 18th anniversary in September, with the presenter saying on Instagram that she was “so glad” he survived to see it.
Kate Garraway and Derek Draper in 2006.
Pic: David Fisher/Shutterstock
Just a few days later, she published her book, The Strength Of Love: Embracing An Uncertain Future With Resilience And Optimism, chronicling the upending of life as she knew it when her husband fell ill.
“It’s a constant cycle of loving and losing, gratitude at surviving and grief for what’s been lost,” she said. “This book tells the story of how I am learning to find love and strength to help my family thrive and I hope what I have learned helps you to get through your own challenges.”
Garraway also made two documentaries about Draper’s health battle and his care, with both programmes winning National Television Awards in the authored documentary category.
Derek Draper
In 2022, she shared a post on Instagram as the second show, Caring For Derek, received its nomination.
“The reason we made the documentary was to highlight carers, professional carers, and carers who are doing it for love and the tough challenges that that involves,” she said.
“As much as you don’t begrudge doing it, it’s very hard. You saw me frustrated, depressed, emotional, and I’ve been all of those and more in recent weeks and months.
“That’s the thing about caring; you want it to carry on because you want the person surviving and with you. But there isn’t an end point, and it doesn’t get any easier.”
Australia’s financial regulator will seek the High Court’s permission to appeal a lower court’s ruling favoring fintech firm Block Earner, which found the company’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning service is not a financial product.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission said on May 21 that it wants to ask the High Court of Australia to clarify what the definition of a financial product is and clarify the circumstances when an interest-earning product and the conversion of assets from one form to another are regulated.
“The definition of financial product was drafted in a broad and technology-neutral way, and ASIC believes it is in the public interest to clarify this,” the watchdog said.
“This clarification is important as it applies to all financial products and services whether they involve crypto-assets or not.”
On April 22, Federal Court Justices David O’Callaghan, Wendy Abraham and Catherine Button found that Block Earner’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning product is not a financial product, a managed investment scheme or a derivative under the Corporations Act.
ASIC said the court will consider its application. Special leave is required in an appeal to the High Court, and it’s only granted in cases where it would answer significant legal questions or matters of public interest.
A Block Earner spokesperson told Cointelegraph the matter has now escalated to a “broader legal question” around the definition of a financial product, which extends “well beyond Block Earner, and the crypto sector.”
“We believe the Full Federal Court’s April ruling was a strong and well-reasoned decision that upheld the integrity of our operations,” the spokesperson said. “We remain confident in the soundness of that judgment and will respond to ASIC’s application through the appropriate legal channels.”
Legal saga ongoing since 2022
ASIC first launched legal proceedings against Block Earner in November 2022, arguing the company needed a financial services license to offer its yield product, which was available from March 17, 2022, until the company shut it down on Nov. 16, 2022.
Related: Australia outlines crypto regulation plan, promises action on debanking
In February 2024, an Australian court initially ruled the fintech firm would need a financial services license to operate its crypto yield-bearing products.
Another June 2024 ruling in Australia’s Federal Court released Block Earner from any financial penalties because it had “acted honestly” and pursued its legal opinions before launching the products, which ASIC appealed.
Block Earner appealed the Federal Court’s decision that it needed a financial services license on July 9, 2024.
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
VanEck plans to launch a private digital assets fund in June targeting tokenized Web3 projects built on the Avalanche blockchain network, the asset manager said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph.
The VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund, available only to accredited investors, aims to invest in liquid tokens and venture-backed projects across Web3 sectors, including gaming, financial services, payments, and artificial intelligence.
Idle capital will be deployed into Avalanche (AVAX) real-world asset (RWA) products, including tokenized money market funds, VanEck said.
The fund will be managed by the team behind VanEck’s Digital Assets Alpha Fund (DAAF), which oversees more than $100 million in net assets as of May 21.
“The next wave of value in crypto will come from real businesses, not more infrastructure,” Pranav Kanade, portfolio manager for DAAF, said in a statement.
Related: Tokenized stocks could top $1T in market cap — Execs
Thematic crypto funds
VanEck’s PurposeBuilt Fund is the latest in a series of funds from the asset manager and rivals designed to offer exposure to projects and companies in fast-growing segments of Web3.
On May 14, VanEck launched a new actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) to invest in stocks and financial instruments providing exposure to the digital economy.
In April, VanEck launched another ETF investing in a passive index of companies operating in the crypto space.
Asset managers such as VanEck are requesting the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) permission to list upward of 70 crypto ETFs.
The wave of ETF filings is in response to US President Donald Trump softening the agency’s regulatory stance toward crypto after Trump took office in January.
Avalanche RWA ecosystem
Avalanche has emerged as a hub for real-world assets (RWAs) and other institutional-oriented crypto projects.
Its interrelated networks, called subnets, allow institutions to run Ethereum-style smart contracts in a controlled environment. On May 16, Solv Protocol launched a yield-bearing Bitcoin token on the Avalanche blockchain, targeting institutional investors
Avalanche has around $1.5 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of May 21, according to data from DefiLlama.
“We’re seeing a shift away from speculative hype toward real utility and sustainable token economies,” John Nahas, chief business officer at Ava Labs, said in a statement.
Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions — Sky Wee
A Democratic representative in the US Congress will support a blockchain bill at a time when many left-leaning lawmakers are blocking crypto-related pieces of legislation due to concerns with President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest.
In a May 21 notice, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer said he had reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a bill that “solidifies that digital asset developers and service providers that do not custody consumer funds are not money transmitters.”Emmer, a Republican, said Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres would co-lead the bill, making it a bipartisan effort in Congress.
“The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act reflects a thoughtful, bipartisan effort to get digital asset policy right,” said Torres. “While similar language was voted down in markup last Congress, we took that feedback seriously and returned with a smarter, sharper framework that protects innovation without compromising oversight.”
Representatives of advocacy organizations, including the Crypto Council for Innovation, Solana Policy Institute, Digital Chamber, Coin Center, DeFi Education Fund and Blockchain Association, said they would support the proposed blockchain regulatory bill. It was unclear whether Emmer and Torres had a majority of votes in the House of Representatives for the legislation to pass.
Torres has supported many bills and policies favorable to the crypto industry since assuming office in 2021. Together with Emmer, he has led the Congressional Crypto Caucus to advance crypto-friendly policies in the House since March.
A bipartisan blockchain bill amid memecoin concerns?
Other Democratic House members, including Representative Maxine Waters, have suggested they intend to block any legislation related to crypto and blockchain until Republicans address Trump’s connections to the industry, such as his family’s stake in World Liberty Financial and his TRUMP memecoin. The president is planning to host a dinner with up to 220 people holding the most significant amounts of his memecoin on May 22.
Related: Interest groups, lawmakers to protest Trump’s memecoin dinner
Cointelegraph reached out to Torres’ office for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
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