Man who set up support for people living with HIV dies

The co-founder of the Terrence Higgins Trust for people living with HIV has died aged 71.

Martyn Butler helped set up the organisation after his close friend Terrence Higgins became the first named person to die of an Aids-related illness in the UK.

He supported the trust for five decades, fought for LGBT rights and was recognised for his contribution in 2022 with an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II.

British Lions captain Gareth Thomas said he will continue to fight in his memory.

Thomas, who is also a patron of the trust, said he was a "trailblazer" adding he will not forget his smile.

"Martyn Butler founding Terrence Higgins Trust brought a distinctly Welsh feel to everything done by the organisation dedicated to a fellow Welshman," he said.

Guy Hewett, Butler's brother, said his family was "heartbroken to lose him so suddenly but full of pride for all he achieved".

"He saw it as a duty to inform the country, and in particular the gay community, of what little information there was on HIV and AIDS in the early 1980s," he said.

"He took great joy in seeing what Terrence Higgins Trust has become and stayed involved to the very end. Grief is the terrible price of love, but we know his legacy lives on."

Butler was born in Newport and moved to London in the 1970s, where he worked in advertising, cinema and entertainment.

He met Higgins and the pair worked together at Heaven nightclub.

He co-founded the Terrence Higgins Trust in 1982 after Higgins' death, along with Higgins' boyfriend Rupert Whitaker.

Tony Whitehead, the inaugural chair of Terrence Higgins Trust, said hearing Butler speak at the first AIDS conferenced "galvanised" him to join the trust.

"I was inspired by his courage to speak out and his determination to get things done," he said.

And its chief executive Richard Angell said the trust would not exist if it weren't for Butler.

He said: "He was determined, spirited and never took no for an answer. Kind to a fault, he was also brave – giving his home phone number as the first Aids helpline in 1983 – and caring, and an inspiration to other deaf people everywhere.

"He will be sorely missed."