Former minister reveals HIV status
Former Culture Minister Chris Smith has revealed that he is HIV positive.
The Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury – the country’s first openly gay Cabinet Minister – told the Sunday Times he had been carrying the disease for 17 years.
He said he had been using antiretroviral drugs and was in good health.
Until now, his illness had only been known to a few close friends with even the Prime Minister unaware of his status.
Mr Smith said he had chosen to speak out now after being inspired by Nelson Mandela’s decision to public acknowledged earlier this month that his son had died of AIDS.
The former Cabinet Minister told the Sunday Times that: “I didn’t feel the need to tell people, except for a very, very few, as it was not in any way affecting my work,”
“What Nelson Mandela said very much struck a chord with me,” he said.
“He spoke about how nobody should be ashamed of HIV and said that it should be regarded just like any other illness. He was brave and right.”
The 53-year-old intends to stand down from parliament at the next election.
He was first elected in 1983 and came out as a homosexual a year later. Mr Smith was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, shortly before meeting his long-term partner.
