After the UKIP candidate for Eastleigh accused Paul Childs on Twitter of deliberately contracting his condition, Childs told BuzzFeed News he’s seeking advice about her “deeply offensive” tweet.

Paul Childs, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Liverpool Riverside, is threatening legal action after Patricia Culligan, the UKIP candidate for Eastleigh, tweeted that he "deliberately" contracted HIV. Facebook / Paul Childs Lib Dem candidate Paul Childs Youtube UKIP candidate Patrician Culligan

In an interview with BuzzFeed News on Tuesday, Childs spoke out about his condition, and about the shock of testing HIV positive in 2011 following a routine sexual-health screening. He was inspired to come forward by his fellow Lib Dem candidate Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett, who revealed his HIV status to BuzzFeed News the week before. In a harrowing account, Hyyrylainen-Trett described how childhood bullying led him to suicide attempts, drug abuse, and contracting the virus as an act of self-harm. Childs also accused Nigel Farage of "scaremongering" following the UKIP leader's remarks about HIV-positive immigrants during last week's leaders' debate.

Culligan responded on Twitter the following day: Twitter

After a barrage of criticism, Culligan deleted the tweet and apologised: Twitter

And then she added: Twitter