HIV charity calls for apology from Iceland chairman over ‘highly damaging’ false claim
"As soon as we saw Richard Walker’s claim that three employees at Iceland supermarkets are HIV positive as a result of needle attacks, we knew it wasn’t true"
The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) has called out the Executive Chairman of the supermarket Iceland over false information regarding the spread of HIV.
It followed an op-ed that Richard Walker OBE wrote for the Mail Online regarding shoplifting in stores.
Walker made reference to a number of ways staff had been attacked. In the op-ed, originally published on 15 September, Walker falsely claimed that three Iceland workers had contracted HIV after needle attacks.
On Thursday (21 September), 6 days after first being published the article was corrected to remove the claim regarding HIV. The article now bears the following note:
“Since this article was published, Iceland have clarified that they provided information to Mail Online in error regarding staff being infected with HIV and the article has been revised accordingly.”
“It’s disappointing Mr Walker won’t properly apologise”
In response, the THT’s Chief Executive, Richard Angell, said he had spoken to Walker. He welcomed the line being removed from the op-ed but called for a public apology from the Iceland executive.
“As soon as we saw Richard Walker’s claim that three employees at Iceland supermarkets are HIV positive as a result of needle attacks, we knew it wasn’t true.
“HIV doesn’t survive for long outside the body and we are unaware of any cases where someone contracted HIV as a result of a needlestick attack – let alone three people at one supermarket chain.”
Angell said the charity had contacted Iceland immediately but shared his dismay at it taking 6 days for the article to be corrected.
“It is so important that the line has been removed as it is highly damaging in terms of perpetuating HIV-related stigma and entirely misrepresents the transmission risk of needlestick injury or attack.
“We were determined it would not remain online for more people to see, but it’s disappointing Mr Walker won’t properly apologise for a falsehood and how his company sought to weaponise HIV in a completely unrelated story,” Angell continued.
The National AIDs Trust has also condemned the spreading of such misinformation.
Attitude has contacted Iceland for comment.