New cases of HIV have fallen among gay and bisexual men for the first time, thanks partly to a controversial new drug labelled a “promiscuity pill” by critics.

The 21 per cent decline has been hailed as “one of the most significant advances” in the fight against the epidemic since it took hold in the 1980s.

Overall there has been an 18 per cent drop in the number of people newly diagnosed with the sexually transmitted disease - 5,164 last year - the biggest fall on record, according to Public Health England (PHE).