MP reveals he is HIV positive to counter ‘stigma’ around disease
A LABOUR MP has become the first to reveal he is HIV positive in the House of Commons as he said the condition was “deeply misunderstood”.
Lloyd Russell-moyle said he hoped his decision to speak out would help reduce the stigma around the disease and increase understanding of it.
He said: “Next year it will be 10 years since I became HIV positive. I was 22 years old, and diagnosed early.
“Since then I have been on worldclass treatment provided by the NHS – so I have not only survived, I’ve prospered, and any partner I have is safe and protected.”
The MP for Brighton Kemptown, who was elected in 2017, was praised for his “bravery” by his parliamentary colleagues and campaigners.
Mr Russell-moyle is the second MP to announce he has HIV while serving as a member of Parliament, after Chris Smith. He is the first to do it in the chamber. Lord Smith, a former Labour minister, revealed he was Hiv-positive in 2005 in a newspaper interview.
Speaking during an adjournment debate yesterday ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec 1, the 32-year-old said he wanted to “defy the stigma” around the diagnosis. “The disease is still deeply misunderstood,” he said. “Etched into much of the public’s memory as a death sentence, HIV conjures images of gravestones and a life marked by tragedy. The reality is that today, the prognosis is wildly different to what it was when it was brought to the public’s attention.
“If treated, someone who is HIV positive, like myself, can expect to live a long and full life with little to no sideeffects from the drugs regime.
“I hope that my coming out serves to defy the stigma around the disease. I hope that more people will understand that effective treatment keeps people who are Hiv-positive healthy, and it protects their partners.” Mr Russellmoyle
‘Etched into much of the public’s memory as a death sentence, HIV conjures images of gravestones’
said cuts to public health funding meant he could not “keep quiet any more” about an issue which affected him “so personally”.
Ian Green, the chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “We’re extremely grateful to Lloyd, and his decision to use his platform to help us work toward zero HIV stigma and zero HIV transmissions in the UK.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said the backbencher had “shown enormous courage”.