The tabloid press did not go out in pursuit of Chris Smith's partner as they did the lovers of other, less open MPs, because there was nothing to reveal that was not already known.But he had to endure being "gay MP Chris Smith" every time his name cropped up in certain newspapers, even though, unusually for a politician, he rarely liked to talk about himself or his personal life "I wanted to say, 'Yes I'm gay. "When I first heard about it, I was really worried because there was hardly any treatment, but I was lucky and fairly early on I was put on AZT and later on to a combination of drugs."It was the uncertainty which clearly has an effect. I've also been with the National Health Service all that time," 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."With his announcement, Mr Smith has claimed another first in a career in which he has broken a series of social taboos. For 12 years he was the only "out" gay in the House of Commons. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is to host a celebration next weekend to mark the 20th anniversary of Smith's unprecedented decision to made a public declaration of his sexuality.The Labour victory in 1997 made him the first known gay to hold office in the British Cabinet. There had been other gay MPs and cabinet ministers, but they had all kept their sexuality secret.He broke another social barrier when he induced the Commons authorities to recognise his long-term partner, Dorian Jabri, who was granted privileges that had previously been available only for the legal wives or husbands of MPs.
Mr Smith's illness was previously known or suspected in Westminster, but he has persuaded successive national newspaper editors that to report it would be a breach of his privacy. He did not tell Tony Blair about his illness, and it is possible that the Prime Minister did not know until now that one of his cabinet ministers had been tested HIV positive.In an interview with today's Sunday Times, Mr Smith said that he considered himself lucky that his illness was treated quickly with anti-retroviral drugs. Chris Smith, the former secretary of state for culture, has become the first serving British politician to breach the taboo about HIV, the condition that causes Aids, by announcing that he was tested HIV positive 17 years ago. His public statement was prompted by the declaration by Nelson Mandela, who recently told the world that his 54-year-old son, Makgatho, had died from Aids."What Nelson Mandela said very much struck a chord with me," he said. Figures taken from the 2003 RAF Continuous General Attitude Survey suggest that 87 per cent of staff believe that there is overstretch and that it is causing serious problems in the RAF, with 68 per cent saying their own area of operation was being hit.The latest available official survey on conditions in the air force also found that 49 per cent believe morale is low. An explanation for the disaffection is suggested by figures on working hours that indicate personnel are working an average of eight hours above the standard working week.
Almost 190,000 hours were worked over a 48-hour week.More than half of all staff surveyed blamed work commitments for failing to take entitled holiday leading to an estimated 450,000 days of annual leave left unclaimed, an analysis carried out by the Liberal Democrats found.Paul Keetch, the party's defence spokesman, said the evidence of overstretch meant that it would be "irresponsible" for the Government to press ahead with planned cuts."Given the precision required throughout the service - by pilots, technicians and support staff - there is a very serious risk that safety could be jeopardised and performance undermined," he said.. "What I really want to do is bump into her in the street and go for coffee I just want to be normal with her.". "What I didn't realise was that once you've started this process going it changes everybody's lives, and not necessarily for the best."It's like a village here, and people are interested even in the most obscure MP I'm amazed at some of the letters I've had. "I didn't want to be false about it; I introduced her to people as my daughter," he said. He only found out when Lucy wrote to him last year at his Westminster office "She was sane, sensible and logical," he recalled. "I liked her immediately."They met, and informed their families - Mr Pound has two teenage children. Six current cabinet ministers would also lose their seats: Margaret Beckett, Charles Clarke, Patricia Hewitt, Alan Johnson, Tessa Jowell and Ruth Kelly.The figures suggest the potential for meltdown in the electoral system if the Liberal Democrats can persuade voters in their target seats that they have a "realistic chance" of winning.
