Infected blood scandal: Victim says 40 year wait for compensation is 'shameful'

Richard Warwick spoke out after the Government announced it will make interim £100,000 payments to thousands of victims and bereaved partners by the end of October.

They were NHS patients, with blood disorders, who became seriously ill when they were treated with contaminated blood products known as Factor VIII or IX from the mid-1970s.

At least 2,400 have died so far, after contracting blood-borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C from the products, which were made overseas from pooled plasma provided by thousands of donors.

The payments were recommended by Sir Brian Langstaff, chair of the ongoing public inquiry into the scandal, who said there is “a compelling case for significant relief as a matter of urgency”, as many of the victims are “living on borrowed time”.

It is the first time compensation will be paid to victims, who have spent decades campaigning.

Mr Warwick, who lives near Malton in North Yorkshire, said victims have been vindicated, but it is “completely unacceptable” that the Government has taken so long to accept some liability.

The 56-year-old was given blood products infected with hepatitis and HIV, while receiving experimental treatment for haemophilia at an NHS centre, at the Mayor Treloar School in Hampshire, in the 1970s and 80s.

“This has taken over 40 years and it’s actually shameful that it has taken that long,” he said. “It’s a complete failing of democracy.”

“It’s vindication for campaigners that have said all along that the Government covered up their wrongdoings, as they continued to import Factor VIII from the United States, despite the warnings and the dangers of doing so.”

He added: “It’s shameful that the Government have denied any wrongdoing for so very long.

“The impact on people’s lives has been horrendous. Marriages and families have been broken up and people who were infected have had to move away. There’s a stigma and it has been terrible.

“It’s also sad that parents who lost children and children who lost their parents are not included in this £100,000 interim payment scheme.”

The Government said the tax-free payments will be made to victims across the UK, and they will not affect any other financial support they are entitled to.

Sir Brian said he may recommend more compensation payments, for a wider group of people, when the inquiry concludes next year.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Kit Malthouse said: "Those affected by the infected blood scandal have suffered terribly over many years and that heart-breaking and unimaginable pain has been compounded by the financial uncertainty many have faced.

"These interim payments will start the process of securing that certainty. My priority is to get the money to those people as quickly as possible."