Lord Alan Sugar reveals his sister Shirley, 88, has died of Covid-19
Lord Sugar #LordSugar
Lord Alan Sugar’s sister has died after contracting Covid-19 only two weeks after his brother also died from the virus, he revealed today.
The 73-year-old host of The Apprentice said his sister Shirley, 88, had been ‘sick for a while but I guess Covid got her in the end’.
It comes two weeks after his brother Derek died on December 15 after coronavirus complicated his underlying health problems. He also has a second sister, Daphne.
Lord Sugar, pictured with his wife Ann Simons, has now lost two siblings to coronavirus
Lord Sugar tweeted an old picture of Shirley in the early hours of this morning, saying: ‘My eldest sister Shirley passed away today at the age of 88.
‘She had been sick for a while but I guess Covid got her in the end to join our brother Derek who passed two weeks ago.’
Two weeks ago, Lord Sugar said of Derek: ‘Today I lost my long-suffering brother Derek, another victim of Covid which added to his underlying health issues.
‘He was a lifetime, passionate Spurs supporter. I never forget my sister-in-law joking with me, thanking me for buying him the club.
Lord Sugar said Shirley, 88, had been ‘sick for a while but I guess Covid got her in the end’
‘A sad day for us all in the family,’ Lord Sugar, who was chairman of Spurs, said. He also posted a picture of Derek on Instagram, writing: ‘RIP bro’.
In September, Lord Sugar hit out at ‘unfair’ criticism of the Government’s reaction to Covid-19, hailing Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s response.
‘But I do think they need to demand that people come back to offices and support the City, support the economy,’ he said at the time.
‘The City is suffering as there are no workers there, so until they really push to get more people there it will continue to look like a ghost town.’
Lord Sugar’s brother Derek also died of Covid-19, the Apprentice star revealed on December 15
Lord Sugar is 12 years younger than his youngest older sibling, the children of low-income, working-class Jews who were raised on a council estate.
In his biography, he wrote: ‘I never experienced any feelings of closeness and caring from my parents.’
He also said he hardly remembers his brothers and sisters living at home. Lord Sugar was chairman and part-owner of Tottenham Hotspur FC from 1991 to 2001.
The businessman was criticised in June when he suggested Britain’s first Covid lockdown should be eased because no one he knew had died of the virus – after spending six months in his holiday home in Florida.
The Apprentice star revealed the death of his brother Derek in a tweet two weeks ago
He said at the time: ‘I think Prime Minister Johnson unfortunately had a problem himself and I think he’s being a little bit too cautious if you ask me, just slightly.’
Earlier this month it was claimed he wants to relocate filming of The Apprentice to Australia in 2021 as ‘life there is almost back to normal’ amid the pandemic.
The business mogul is currently in the country while he films the Australian version of the show, and is thought to have been impressed with the situation there.
It comes after this year’s season of the British version of the show was cancelled due to difficulties assuring social distancing and the challenges of shooting overseas.
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