Gay activists picket Aids charity after pair jailed
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.AIDS activists demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Terrence Higgins Trust yesterday in protest at the jailing of two HIV-positive men who had been picketing the building, writes Esther Oxford.
Michael Cottrell, 30, and Karl Burge, 28, were jailed for 28 days for contempt of court on Friday after breaking an injunction banning them from picketing the charity in Grays Inn Road, central London.
The two men were involved in a dispute over the trust's links with Wellcome plc, the makers of the Aids drug, AZT. They claim that rather than publicising the debilitating side-effects of AZT, the trust promoted the drug in exchange for funding from Wellcome plc.
Cottrell, who tested positive for HIV in 1985, took AZT for several months but gave up because he felt ill.
The preliminary results of the biggest AZT clinical trial, published in the Lancet in April, found that taking AZT before the onset of Aids was of no benefit. Feeling betrayed, Cottrell began picketing in April. The trust, he said, had produced a 24-page booklet in 1991 with nine pages devoted to AZT; the copyright on the leaflet was held by the Wellcome Foundation, which also paid for the printing.
In May, the Terrence Higgins Trust took out an injunction claiming the protesters were intimidating clients. Cottrell and his partner pleaded guilty, then went back to protest again. A second injunction was taken out and last Friday both men were sentenced to 28 days' jail.
Nick Partridge, the trust's chief executive, denied that it had withheld information about AZT's toxicity. 'Five years ago, activists were complaining that the trust was not doing enough to publicise AZT,' he said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments