Hydraulic fluid leakage

Could hydraulic fluid from a leaking slave cylinder get on to the clutch in a TD5?
l was experiencing bad clutch judder when cold on my Defender 110 which cleared after a while.
l also noticed a fall in the fluid level. l took out the slave cylinder and the rubber boot was full of fluid, plus it had leaked out.
l fitted a new slave cylinder and the clutch judder when cold has almost disappeared.

Any of them on the shaft slaves could contaminate a plate when they leek. [ Come back series 2/2a release, the best ever.]