A politician who revealed he is HIV positive during a House of Commons debate says going public was the best decision of his life .
And Labour’s Lloyd Russell-Moyle revealed Gareth Thomas turned to him for support ahead of his decision to speak to the Sunday Mirror.
The Brighton Kemptown MP, 33, was close to tears when he revealed his own diagnosis last year.
But now he says: “Speaking out was the best decision I ever made. It was such a huge relief. It meant I could just be who I was. ”
He added: “Of course there have been a handful of people who have rung the office to say nasty things, calling me diseased and saying how I deserved it.
“But the overwhelming reaction has been extremely positive.”
Gareth got in touch with Lloyd last week through the Terrence Higgins Trust and the pair have exchanged a few emails.
Lloyd said: “I think he was looking for a bit of reassurance that he had made the right decision. I was able to tell him he was absolutely doing the right thing and to wish him luck.
“I said it was better to get this off his chest, but also to think about the lives he’ll change.
“Gareth is a huge name in sport and to have role models that can say, ‘Actually my life carries on’, is so important.
"What he is doing is incredibly important for sport.”
