Helmut Schmidt gravely ill at 96

FORMER German chancellor Helmut Schmidt is gravely ill in intensive care.

The 96-year- old, who was in office from 1974 to 1982, was taken to hospital in Hamburg on Tuesday suffering a blocked blood vessel in his right leg.

Doctor Heiner Greten told newspaper Bild that Schmidt’s condition was similar to a stroke and ‘very serious’.

Earlier this year Schmidt, who has smoked 60 cigarettes a day since he was a teenager, caused shock when he revealed he had had an affair during his 68-year marriage to wife Loki.

She died five years ago and he is now in a relationship with Ruth Loah, 81, his long-time secretary.