Detention of Roger George Youd

Roger George Youd (22 May 1956 – 16 December 1985) was the only person in the United Kingdom to be subject to a court order given under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 preventing him from leaving hospital due to AIDS.^[1][2][3] This was the first time in Western Europe that such a court order had been issued.^[4]

Born in Flint, Wales, Youd left Buckley to study at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. He then moved to Manchester and worked as a clerk during the day and as a nightclub barman and disc jockey in the evenings. Youd was diagnosed HIV positive in late August 1985 and on 4 September 1985 he was admitted to Monsall Hospital, Manchester where he died of malabsorption due to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) on 16 December 1985.

On Saturday 14 September 1985, in a 5-minute hearing at Manchester Magistrates Court, an application for a court order under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 was made in order to detain Youd in Monsall Hospital, as he had expressed a wish to return to his home in Levenshulme.

Application for detainment under section 38 of the 1984 Act requires the patient to be suffering from a notifiable disease, HIV/AIDS is not classified as a notifiable disease in the United Kingdom.^[5] However the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1985, which came into force in March 1985, extended some of the same powers to AIDS patients, until its revocation by the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988.^[6]

The order was sought by Manchester's medical officer for environmental health, Dr Anna Elizabeth Jones.^[7] Dr Jones had previously been quoted in the Manchester Evening News on 26 January 1985: "Dr Elizabeth Jones, Manchester's medical officer for environmental health said a strong case could be made out for making AIDS a notifiable disease".^[7] Manchester's Environmental Services Committee was the body responsible for approving Dr Jones's application for the order. The chair of the committee did not have executive power. Councillor Keith Bradley was the chair of the committee. Bradley approved Dr Jones's request for application for the order without convening a meeting of the committee to pass a motion to approve the application.

Dr Jones sought the order upon request from Monsall Hospital consultant Dr Edward Dunbar. Dunbar later defended his actions in a television interview where he claimed Youd "was bleeding profusely from many orifices ... in danger of dying from the loss of a large quantity of blood, which would be lost in a projectile manner, and anybody in the near vicinity was likely to be sprayed with a large quantity of infected blood".^[2] Youd was suffering with rectal bleeding, which was a known symptom of both heterosexual and homosexual patients with advanced stages of AIDS. Dr Jones told the court Youd "was bleeding copiously and trying to discharge himself";^[3] Dr Jones also told the court that Youd's release from hospital "would be most dangerous".^[3]

The application for the order to detain Youd was granted by magistrate Mr Thomas Jones, on the morning of the Saturday 14 September 1985. Youd's brother, sister-in-law and mother, were staying at a lodge within the hospital grounds. Youd and his family were only notified by Dr Dunbar that the detainment order had been obtained after it had been issued. Youd´s mother was unaware he was being treated for AIDS and only learnt about it due to press coverage of the court order.^[8]

On 24 September 1985, at Manchester Crown Court, sitting as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lord Justice Russell allowed the order to be withdrawn on appeal following arguments made by Youd's barrister, who had been appointed by the Terrence Higgins Trust to act as Youd's counsel. Manchester City Council did not oppose the appeal.

The application for the order was made on the morning of Saturday 14 September 1985 in a 'closed court' with reporting restrictions applied. However, Youd's full name was leaked to the press to which was splashed across several Sunday tabloids to the annoyance of the UK's Chief Medical Officer, Donald Acheson. The magistrate then made his own statement to the press in which he claimed "It was dangerous for this man to be let free".^[7][9]

On the day of the application the detainment order made front page headlines in that days Manchester Evening News lunchtime 'Extra' edition^[10] followed by the evening 'Final' edition^[11] and was followed up in Sunday newspapers^{[12][13][14][15]} and, over the following week, newspapers throughout the UK reported his intention to appeal.^[16][17][18]

Youd was initially anonymously referred to as a 29-year-old man but his full identity was revealed in later press coverage.^[19] As a result of the publicity the DHSS prepared Youd a new identity, his identity would have been changed to Stephen Williams. ^[8]

News of Youd's detainment also appeared in newspapers across the United States.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]}

On the 19 October 1985, the British Medical Journal published an article by their legal correspondent in regard to section 38 of the 1984 Act being applied to Youd and HIV/AIDS.^[29]

Manchester Gay Council & Manchester Gay Centre representatives voiced anger that the case had not been heard in private and that the media had created "mass public hysteria" - John Brown, secretary of Manchester's Gay Centre said that people with HIV would avoid hospital "if they have to endure this sort of indignity".^[9] Councillor Graham Stringer, leader of Manchester City Council said: "We intend to complain that this hearing should not have been heard in public ... It will make it more difficult in future for people who suspect they have AIDS to come forward for treatment. They will be afraid of being identified and they will fear that they will be told to remain in hospital. The City Council now plan to draw up a policy statement covering all aspects of AIDS. One of the main concerns is that, when any future action is taken which restricts the movement of a patient the privacy and all other civil liberties of the patient are respected."^[7][4]

In October 1985 gay groups from all over Britain gathered to protest at Manchester Town Hall asking for Labour councillors to admit "we were wrong".^[30]

Nick Harris of Manchester City Council said in a television interview that was aired by Thames Television on 7 November 1985: "we believe that it shouldn't be necessary to use the legislation in future".^[2]

In the Channel 4 drama It's a Sin, Youd's successful appeal to being detained under the 1984 Act is referred to in scenes where a character is forcibly detained and isolated in hospital.

On the 40th Anniversary of Youd's death, 16th December 2025, William Hampson, host of the podcast AIDS: The Lost Voices published an episode dedicated to Youd titled 'Remembering Roger Youd'. In the episode Hampson spoke with Youd's brother along with friends and activists who gave greater insight into the academic and fun loving man Youd was. The episode was in addition to an earlier 2024 episode where he reviewed press coverage of Youd's court case gathering newspaper articles and examining the roles of the local authority, medical and legal professionals involved.^[8]