Tom Clarke: Donald Dewar was a miserable sociopath and a bigot

Times

28-06-2025

One of Labour's longest-serving MPs has claimed that Donald Dewar was a'miserable sociopath' whose vindictive behaviour appeared to have been motivated by snobbery, jealousy and 'deep-rooted anti-Catholic bigotry'.
Sir Tom Clarke, who served as a minister in the Blair government, claims his political career was derailed by an 'unfathomable hate campaign', aimed at thwarting his progress, which was orchestrated by the architect of Scottish devolution.
The former MP for Coatbridge and Chryston, who holds both a knighthood and a papal knighthood, has used his forthcoming autobiography to make a series of scathing allegations against the country's inaugural first minister.
Dewar, who died in office suddenly in 2000, is commemorated with a statue in the heart of Glasgow and was hailed posthumously — by allies and opponents alike — as the 'father of the nation'.
Clarke has broken decades of silence to highlight in his memoir what he describes as his erstwhile Labour comrade's 'mendacious, petty and back-biting' nature.
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He alleges that Dewar and his supporters attempted to destroy his career and reputation by circulating an official party press release which stated he had contradicted 'a virus', prompting speculation that he had developed Aids — then regarded as an incurable death sentence.
'I have since been told that the release had been signed-off at the 'highest level' within the Labour Party in Scotland,' he told The Sunday Times.
'It is difficult not to draw the conclusion that this, undoubtedly the nastiest piece in a very protracted campaign against me, was entirely the work of one Donald Dewar.'
Clarke was actually suffering from ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, from which he quickly made a complete recovery.
'Donald Dewar's inexplicable loathing for me carried on right up to his death,' he alleged. 'May God rest his soul.'
Clarke, who served as minister of state for film and tourism in the late 1990s, alleges that Dewar pursued a decades-long 'vendetta' against him, which intensified significantly after he replaced him as shadow secretary of state for Scotland.
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He claimed his rival used media contacts to ensure damaging and negative stories about his leadership dominated the news agenda.
Clarke said their relationship had deteriorated significantly when John Smith, the then Labour leader, chose him to replace Dewar as the party's leader in Scotland in 1992.
'He told firmly that I should not expect anyone from his former team to work with me or assist in any way,' he said.
Clarke speculated that the root of their rancorous relationship could stem from Dewar's past failure to be selected to represent his Coatbridge constituency.
'He was ever the man to bear a grudge,' he claimed. 'Perhaps with Donald I was the victim of the perfect storm of snobbery, elitism and irrational personal jealousy.'
• John MacKay: Scotland is a different country to when I began presenting the news
Other party colleagues and prominent figures have suggested a more malign explanation.
'I don't imagine I will ever know all the reasons for this inexplicable hostility,' he said.
'However reluctantly, I cannot ignore the number of times my religious beliefs were mentioned.
'My closest friend in the Commons, the Welsh Labour MP Gareth Wardell, highlighted Dewar's constant and insidious attempts to undermine me.'
'He ascribes Dewar's hate campaign to something much nastier which many others have commented on; his deep-rooted anti-Catholic bigotry.'
There is no evidence to suggest Donald Dewar harboured sectarian views.
Clarke, who lost the seat he represented for 33 years to the SNP in 2015, added: 'That was also the view of the late Cardinal Winning.
Winning, the former Archbishop of Glasgow, accused Dewar, an atheist, of harbouring prejudice against Catholicism.
'Donald Dewar and all these [Labour] fellows were bigots,' he alleged, in comments which were made public after his death in 2001.
This was categorically denied, at that time, by Lord Elder, Dewar's friend and former special adviser, who suggested that Winning's ire was fuelled by the first minister's steadfast support for gay rights.
'There were disagreements.' he said. 'That is hardly the same thing as being anti-Catholic.
'One of the people Donald had most time and most respect for was the Catholic priest in Anniesland [in his Glasgow constituency].'
David Whitton, the former Labour MSP who served as Dewar's official spokesman and special advisor, was perplexed by Clarke's claims.
'I just don't recognise Tom's description of Donald Dewar at all,' he said.
'I find it pretty sad that he had decided to describe him in that way when he's in no position to defend himself or his record.'
One senior Labour figure said: 'This kind of undignified score-settling and mud-slinging would be unseemly coming from a teenager, never mind an 84-year-old knight of the realm.'
'Given that Donald's team was filled with people from Catholic backgrounds he must have been a pretty ineffectual bigot.'
'In his heart of hearts, Tom must know that the only thing that held him back was his lack of ability and complete absence of charisma and likeability.'
Clarke, now retired, acknowledged his claims would spark an angry backlash from those close to Dewar, but stood by his version of events.
'I have recorded what I think is the story of my life and it wouldn't make sense if I wasn't completely honest,' he said.
'If people come out worse then they would have wanted that's unfortunate, but I must tell it exactly as I recall it.'
To Be Honest…The Story of My Life by Sir Tom Clarke will be published this week by Baxter Jardine, with all proceeds going to charity.