Former British Government minister is HIV-positive
The former Labour culture secretary, Chris Smith 53, has revealed he has been HIV-positive for 17 years.
He said he decided to go public about his condition after former South African president Nelson Mandela announced his son had died of Aids.
Mr Smith was diagnosed in 1987, but did not know when he contracted the virus.
'Really worried'
"When I first heard about it, I was really worried because there was hardly any treatment," he told the paper.
But he said he was lucky to be put on a combination of anti-retroviral drugs that have helped him fight the illness.
Mr Smith, who is due to stand down at the next election, revealed that he was gay in 1984, a year after becoming MP for Islington South.
He said a sensible diet had also helped him maintain his health, adding: "I've also been with the National Health Service all that time."
Asked if he told Mr Blair about his condition, he said: "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."
Mr Smith said Mr Mandela's call for an end to the stigma surrounding Aids, made after the death of his 54-year-old son Makgatho, had prompted him to speak out.
"What Nelson Mandela said very much struck a chord with me," he said.
Mr Smith was sacked from the Cabinet after the 2001 election, following controversies over the Wembley stadium project and the lottery.
In 2003 he announced he would quit politics at the end of the current parliament.
The former Labour culture secretary, Chris Smith 53, has revealed he has been HIV-positive for 17 years.
He said he decided to go public about his condition after former South African president Nelson Mandela announced his son had died of Aids.
Mr Smith was diagnosed in 1987, but did not know when he contracted the virus.
'Really worried'
"When I first heard about it, I was really worried because there was hardly any treatment," he told the paper.
But he said he was lucky to be put on a combination of anti-retroviral drugs that have helped him fight the illness.
Mr Smith, who is due to stand down at the next election, revealed that he was gay in 1984, a year after becoming MP for Islington South.
He said a sensible diet had also helped him maintain his health, adding: "I've also been with the National Health Service all that time."
Asked if he told Mr Blair about his condition, he said: "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."
Mr Smith said Mr Mandela's call for an end to the stigma surrounding Aids, made after the death of his 54-year-old son Makgatho, had prompted him to speak out.
"What Nelson Mandela said very much struck a chord with me," he said.
Mr Smith was sacked from the Cabinet after the 2001 election, following controversies over the Wembley stadium project and the lottery.
In 2003 he announced he would quit politics at the end of the current parliament.
Mr Smith (left), told the Sunday Times
he did not tell Tony Blair about
his illness when he became Britain's first openly gay Cabinet minister in 1997.
he did not tell Tony Blair about
his illness when he became Britain's first openly gay Cabinet minister in 1997.
