Foreign Secretary James Cleverly feared losing his wife after her breast cancer diagnosis
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said he “could not speak or sleep” when he found out his wife had breast cancer.
Susie Cleverly, 49, was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer in December 2021 after spotting dimpled skin underneath her right breast the month before – nearly a year ago to the day.
At the time, her husband was a minister in the Foreign Office, where Liz Truss was foreign secretary in the Boris Johnson administration.
The couple, who have been married for 29 years after meeting at university and have two teenage sons, spoke to Sky News’ Beth Rigby Interviews… programme about her diagnosis, how they have coped, and what it has been like to handle it all while holding one of the great offices of state.
After being diagnosed, Mrs Cleverly rang her husband, who was on the train into Westminster, and told him the doctor thought it was cancer.
“I just burst into tears and I think I cried most of that day,” she said.
‘I just couldn’t get the words out’
Mr Cleverly, 53, who has been the MP for Braintree since 2015, added: “I said I’ll come home.
“I had to ring my private secretary in the Foreign Office saying ‘can you cancel meetings because I need to go home’, and he said ‘is everything okay minister?’
“I tried to say Susie might have cancer, I just couldn’t get the words out, I couldn’t speak – I like to talk, but I just couldn’t speak.
“I said I’ll text you, and, you know, this organisation is amazing. Liz Truss was my boss at the time, she was absolutely amazing.
“I went home, Susie and I talked it through, and I tried to ring again to explain what was going on – and I still couldn’t say a word.
“For the next couple of hours everything was done on WhatsApp, and it really hit me, I never felt anything like that before.”
Susie Cleverly found dimpled skin on her right breast nearly a year ago to the day, which turned out to be breast cancer
‘The most frightening word was cancer’
Mrs Cleverly then had about eight mammograms in one day, but they could not see anything until a scan found three lumps in her breast and a node in her arm.
After an MRI, the doctors found more than 12 lumps.
“I wasn’t scared when they told me that,” she said.
“I think the most frightening thing was the word ‘cancer’, so as soon as I was on board with having cancer, I just thought I’m going to get on with it.”
Massive wave of empathy from all MPs
Mr Cleverly said their family and friends have been “fantastic”, with many shaving their heads in solidarity and for charity.
He said despite politics being “ultra-competitive”, MPs from all parties have been very supportive.
“There was this massive wave of empathy and friendship, even from people I didn’t even know particularly well, that was really touching,” he said.
Mrs Cleverly’s treatment left her incredibly ill, with her toenails falling out, infected hives, her face ballooning and stomach and mouth ulcers.
She has now had a mastectomy but is still having immunotherapy to reduce the risk of recurrence and is on a waiting list for reconstructive surgery.
“I feel great, I feel so much more like me,” she said.
‘I thought I might lose her’
But Mr Cleverly admitted there were a “couple of times” he thought he might lose his wife.
Holding back tears, he said: “I haven’t thought about my mortality, and certainly haven’t ever really given any thought to losing Susie, or what that might feel like – and then suddenly you get to confront that. And, we are close.”
The MP, who was made foreign secretary by Ms Truss in September, said he could not have taken the job if it had been earlier in the year when she was going through chemotherapy.
Mrs Cleverly said: “I would have said, do it. But you could have done so.”
Her husband added: “Had I been asked perhaps six or seven months ago when you went through chemo, I don’t think I would have been able to give it the energy and the focus I think the job deserves.
“She’s always been very, very supportive of me and my career. And I do travel a lot. I think the big thing from this is, I think both of us, maybe me, I’m less blase about the time we do have together.
“So when we are together, we’re very, very conscious of making that time really valuable and really meaningful.”
Talking about his job, Mr Cleverly added that he truly believes Ukrainians will succeed in taking their country back from Vladimir Putin, with the best option now for the Russians to withdraw.
He added that Russia should give all the Ukrainian land it has taken back, including Crimea.
“We will continue to support the Ukrainians until this is done,” he said.
Nine of a doctor’s 10 children have been killed in an Israeli missile strike on their home in Gaza, which also left her surviving son badly injured and her husband in a critical condition.
Warning: This article contains details of child deaths
Alaa Al Najjar, a paediatrician at Al Tahrir Clinic in the Nasser Medical Complex, was at work during the attack on her home, south of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on Friday.
Graphic footage shared by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows the bodies of at least seven small children being pulled from the rubble.
Rescuers can be seen battling fires and searching through a collapsed building, shouting out when they locate a body, before bringing the children out one by one and wrapping their remains in body bags.
In the footage, Dr Al Najjar’s husband, Hamdi Al Najjar, who is also a doctor, is put on to a stretcher and then carried to an ambulance.
The oldest of their children was only 12 years old, according to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.
Nine children were killed in the strike. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain,” he wrote in a social media post.
“In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted – Israel’s aggression goes further, wiping out entire families.”
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
British doctors describe ‘horrific’ and ‘unimaginable’ attack
Two British doctors working at Nasser Hospital described the attack as “horrific” and “unimaginable” for Dr Al Najjar.
Speaking in a video diary on Friday night, Dr Graeme Groom said his last patient of the day was Dr Al Najjar’s 11-year-old son, who was badly injured and “seemed much younger as we lifted him on to the operating table”.
Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar’s husband who is also a doctor, was taken to hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
The strike “may or may not have been aimed at his father”, Dr Groom said, adding that the man had been left “very badly injured”.
Dr Victoria Rose said the family “lived opposite a petrol station, so I don’t know whether the bomb set off some massive fire”.
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
‘No political or military connections’
Dr Groom added: “It is unimaginable for that poor woman, both of them are doctors here.
“The father was a physician at Nasser Hospital. He had no political and no military connections. He doesn’t seem to be prominent on social media, and yet his poor wife is the only uninjured one, who has the prospect of losing her husband.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies
He said it was “a particularly sad day”, while Dr Rose added: “That is life in Gaza. That is the way it goes in Gaza.”
Sky News has approached the Israeli Defence Forces for comment.
Read more:
Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I don’t want to lose her’
Dad wrongly pronounced dead in Israeli bombing killed in airstrike
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began when the militant group stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 251 others.
Israel’s military response has flattened large areas of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
World
UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes
The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.
He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.
A woman at the site of an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gaza: ‘Loads of children with huge burns’
Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.
The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.
Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.
Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.
Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.
A body is carried out of rubble after an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Almost everyone depends on aid’ in Gaza
The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.
The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.
The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.
Palestinians search for casualties in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.
Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Read more on Sky News:
Shooting suspect ‘fired repeatedly’
Huge fire declared major incident
Has there been a rise in NHS appointments?
The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.
An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.
They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.
Police at the scene. Pic: AP
Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.
There was no immediate information on a possible motive.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.
A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.
Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump threatens EU with 50% tariff
Mum of emaciated Gazan baby: ‘I don’t want to lose her’
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.
Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway