Sir Elton John and former prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have joined an outpouring of tributes from the political and entertainment worlds to the husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, Derek Draper.
Sir Tony Blair paid tribute to Draper for his qualities as a professional and as a man.
“I am so sad to hear the news about Derek. My heart goes out to Kate and their children William and Darcey,” Sir Tony 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.”
Sir Tony added Draper was “an important part of the New Labour story, at the centre of things right at the beginning”.
Gordon Brownadded he will remember Draper as “brilliant, creative and multitalented”.
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Meanwhile, Sir Elton John sent his “love and thoughts” to Garraway.
In response to her post on Instagram announcing the death, the musician wrote: “So sorry to hear of this news, Kate. Love and thoughts to you and your family x.”
Draper attended the Rocket Man’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert at London’s O2 Arena in April after being invited along with Garraway as the guests of honour.
Image: 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
Fellow Good Morning Britain host Charlotte Hawkins also shared her sympathies with Garraway.
Alongside a photo of Draper and Garraway which Hawkins posted to Instagram, she wrote: “Such desperately sad news about Derek.
“It’s been an incredibly tough time for all the family & Kate has been so strong throughout all this – please send her your love & prayers so she knows we’re all here for her.”
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Garraway confirmed her “darling husband” had died and she had been “by his side holding his hand throughout his last long hours” earlier today.
She said he suffered a heart attack in early December, adding that “the damage inflicted by COVID… led to further complications”.
Among the thousands of replies were tributes from Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid, singer Alesha Dixon and Line Of Duty actress Vicky McClure.
“Our whole hearts are with you,” Reid wrote.
McClure added: “So so sorry to hear this Kate. Sending all my love to you and your family xxx.”
Presenter and comedian Alan Carr posted: “Oh Kate that’s so awful. Sending you so much love and the deepest condolences.”
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Meanwhile, fellow ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly described Garraway as an “astonishing woman” who did her husband “proud”.
Garraway “has been so strong and brave,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Thoughts with her and her children and family. She was right by his side until the end and did him proud. An astonishing woman,” Kelly added.
Draper’s prominence in the Labour Party in the 1990s also led former Number 10 director of communications, Alastair Campbell, to pay tribute to him.
He said he was a “huge character, a giver not a taker, and had so much more to give before COVID took its toll”.
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ITV boss Kevin Lygo, meanwhile, said ITV workers are “desperately saddened” to learn of Draper’s death.
“Everyone that has worked with Kate at ITV over the past few years are desperately saddened to hear this terrible news,” he said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with Kate and Derek’s family and we will continue to offer our support in any way we can at this very difficult time.”
United States Senator Cynthia Lummis suggests the crypto industry may be celebrating too soon over the US Federal Reserve softening its crypto guidance for banks.
“The Fed withdrawing crypto guidance is just noise, not real progress,” Lummis said in an April 25 X post. Lummis called the Fed’s April 24 announcement — withdrawing its 2022 supervisory letter that had discouraged banks from engaging with crypto and stablecoin activities — “just lip service.”
Lummis’ tone was different from the rest of the crypto industry
Lummis, a pro-crypto advocate known for introducing the Bitcoin (BTC) Strategic Reserve Bill in July 2024, pointed out several flaws in the Fed’s announcement, even as Strategy founder Michael Saylor and crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano suggested it was a step forward for banks and crypto.
She argued that the Fed continues to “illegally flout the law on master accounts” and still relies on reputational risk in its bank supervision practices. It comes as the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) is working on a rule to stop examiners from considering reputational risk when reviewing a bank’s operations, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Lummis also highlighted the Fed’s policy statement in Section 9(13), which hasn’t been withdrawn, stating that Bitcoin and digital assets are considered “unsafe and unsound.”
She also reiterated many of the same staff behind Operation Chokepoint 2.0 are still involved in crypto policy today.
“We are NOT fooled. The Fed assassinated companies within the industry and hurt American interests by stifling innovation and shuttering businesses. This fight is far from over.”
“I will continue to hold the Fed accountable until the digital asset industry gets more than a life jacket, Chair Powell — they need a fair shake,” Lummis said.
However, many crypto executives praised the Fed’s announcement as a positive development for the industry. Saylor said in an April 25 X post that the Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin.”
Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, said the Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption.”
In one of his first appearances as the recently sworn-in chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins delivered remarks to the agency’s third roundtable discussion of crypto regulation.
In the “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25, Atkins said he expected “huge benefits” from blockchain technology through efficiency, risk mitigation, transparency, and cutting costs. He reiterated that among his goals at the SEC would be to facilitate “clear regulatory rules of the road” for digital assets, hinting that the agency under former chair Gary Gensler had contributed to market and regulatory uncertainty.
“I look forward to engaging with market participants and working with colleagues in President Trump’s administration and Congress to establish a rational fit-for-purpose framework for crypto assets,” said Atkins.
SEC chair Paul Atkins addressing the April 25 crypto roundtable. Source: SEC
Some critics of US President Donald Trump see Atkins’ nomination to lead the SEC as a nod to the crypto industry, acting on campaign promises to remove Gensler — the former chair resigned the day Trump took office — and cut back on regulation. Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee questioned Atkins on his ties to the industry, potentially presenting conflicts of interest in his role regulating crypto.
“We’ve noticed that we don’t have to be as concerned […] about being accused of things that we’re not doing, like being broker-dealers for securities,” Exodus chief legal officer Veronica McGregor, who participated in the roundtable, told Cointelegraph on April 24.”It’s just a less scary regulatory environment in general. It is, however, still unclear what the ultimate regs are going to look like for crypto.”
The SEC crypto task force is scheduled to hold two more roundtables in May and June to discuss tokenization and decentralized finance, respectively. Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the task force, told Cointelegraph in March that she welcomed the opportunity to work with Atkins to “reorient the agency,” hinting at an SEC with regulations more favorable to the crypto industry.
In addition to the roundtables, the crypto task force has reported several meetings with digital asset firms to discuss various policies and considerations in developing a regulatory framework.
Nasdaq has urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold digital assets to the same regulatory standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name,” according to an April 25 comment letter.
The exchange said the US financial regulator needs to establish a clearer taxonomy for cryptocurrencies, including categorizing a portion of digital assets as “financial securities.” Those tokens, Nasdaq argued, should continue to be regulated “as they are regulated today regardless of tokenized form.”
“Whether it takes the form of a paper share, a digital share, or a token, an instrument’s underlying nature remains the same and it should be traded and regulated in the same ways,” the letter said.
It also proposed categorizing a portion of cryptocurrencies as “digital asset investment contracts,” to be subject to “light touch regulation” but still overseen by the SEC.
Nasdaq’s April 25 letter to the SEC. Source: Nasdaq
The SEC has dramatically pivoted its stance on cryptocurrency oversight since US President Donald Trump took office in January.
Under the leadership of former Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC took the position that practically all cryptocurrencies, with the exception of Bitcoin (BTC), represent investment contracts and therefore qualify as securities.
This stance led the agency to bring upwards of 100 lawsuits against crypto firms for alleged securities law violations.
However, under Trump nominee Paul Atkins, who was sworn in as chair on April 21 after a lengthy Senate confirmation, the SEC has claimed jurisdiction over a narrower segment of cryptocurrencies.
In February, the agency issued guidance stating that memecoins — if clearly identified as purely speculative assets with no intrinsic value — do not qualify as investment contracts pursuant to US law.
In April, the SEC said that stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to the US dollar — similarly do not qualify as securities if they are marketed solely as a means of making payments.
In its April 21 letter, Nasdaq said existing financial infrastructure “can readily absorb digital assets by establishing the proper taxonomy and calibrating certain rules to reflect what is truly new and novel about digital assets.”
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) — a private US securities clearinghouse closely overseen by the SEC — has been laying the foundation for integrating blockchain technology into regulated financial markets.