Iceland’s Executive Chairman Richard Walker OBE has said sorry for his remarks in a Mail Online article which incorrectly claimed three Iceland shop workers contracted HIV as a result of needlestick attacks.

Terrence Higgins Trust, National AIDS Trust, and other politicians and charities had called for him to withdraw the claims, with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS writing to him on 25 September calling for an apology. The same day, Mr Walker released an apology on X (formerly Twitter).

@IcelandRichard said: 'My comment piece on shoplifting published by the Mail Online on 15 September was a draft article that I believed had been superseded by a video interview.

'As I correctly stated in both the draft article and the video interview, threats of violence against our store colleagues by shoplifters are sadly an everyday occurrence, and the weapons deployed to reinforce these threats regularly include knives, screwdrivers, hammers and hypodermic needles.

'However, the claim in the draft article that three of our store colleagues are HIV positive as a result of needle attacks was made in error. I have learnt a lot over the last 10 days, and spoken to professionals doing amazing work in this area. I am told such needlestick occurrences are vanishingly rare and have not happened for many years. I am therefore naturally very sorry that the draft article contained this information.

'We immediately asked the Mail Online to amend its article, which has now been done, and quickly secured the removal of the claim from other media outlets. I obviously never had any intention of stigmatising people with HIV or causing distress, and I apologise to anyone who feels that they were adversely affected by this.'

The way in which HIV is discussed in media has a huge impact on public perceptions and can fuel outdated opinions on HIV. We will always call it out.

Our Chief Executive, Richard Angell, said: 'We’re thankful to Richard Walker for his apology and correcting the record that needle attacks are vanishingly rare. There have been zero recorded cases of HIV through needle attack and the most recent case of HIV through a needle stick injury was in 1999 because the virus doesn’t survive for long outside the body.

'Receiving an apology from the Executive Chair of Iceland was so important to us because all of us at Terrence Higgins Trust have witnessed the devastating effect that stigma and false claims about HIV has on the lives of people living with HIV. It manifests in rejection on dating apps, or when HIV is the punchline in a joke. Stigma and misinformation are huge factors in why people living with HIV being twice more likely to experience feelings of depression or anxiety than the general population. The way in which HIV is discussed in media has a huge impact on public perceptions and fuel attitudes towards the virus that are rooted in the 1980s – that’s why our charity will always call it out.

'It was also vital for Mr Walker to acknowledge the error because over half of Iceland stores are in high or very high HIV prevalence areas. With 80% of staff living within three miles of an Iceland store, people living with HIV need to be well represented. Terrence Higgins Trust would love to work with Richard Walker to make sure his staff have up-to-date information on HIV. Almost 30,000 people work at Iceland supermarkets across the UK and he’s in a unique position to educate them on the facts about HIV.

'We’re working hard to end new HIV cases in the UK by 2030 and it’s crucial for all of us – including Richard Walker – to pledge ourselves as allies against stigma and keep shouting about the facts on HIV, including the fact that people on effective HIV treatment can’t pass it on. Because we will never truly end the epidemic without eradicating the stigma.'