Rishi Sunak apologises to victims of infected blood scandal

The Prime Minister vowed to pay “comprehensive compensation” as he issued a “wholehearted and unequivocal” apology to the victims, with further details set to be revealed later today.

The inquiry into the biggest treatment disaster in the NHS found that the scandal could have been avoided and that there had been a “pervasive” cover-up to hide the truth.

Patients were knowingly exposed to unacceptable risks of infection, with deliberate attempts made to conceal what had happened, with evidence of civil servants destroying documents, the Infected Blood Inquiry found.

More than 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses while receiving NHS care between the 1970s and 1990s, with more than 3,000 people dead as a result leaving behind many more survivors who have battled for decades to uncover the truth of what happened to their friends and loved ones.

Sir Brian Langstaff, the inquiry chairman, described the scandal as a “calamity” and that “the scale of what happened is horrifying”.

The inquiry said that much of the responsibility for many of the failures lies with successive governments who had not acted to save face and money, while the current Government has been criticised for not acting immediately on recommendations made last year about compensation.

Around £10 billion has been earmarked by ministers for compensation set to be announced later this week.

After a decades-long battle for justice, campaigners welcomed the probe’s recommendations but lamented the fact delays meant many of those responsible would never be held to account.

In a statement yesterday in the House of Commons, Mr Sunak said: “At every level, the people and institutions in which we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way.”

“Layer and layer upon hurt, endured across decades, this is an apology from the State to every single person impacted by the scandal.

“It did not have to be this way. It should never have been this way.

“And on behalf of this and every government stretching back to the 1970s, I am truly sorry.”

“Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay it,” he added, saying details would be set out later today.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that failures applied “to all parties, including my own.

“There is only one word: sorry.”

He welcomed Mr Sunak’s confirmation of financial support for victims, saying Labour would “work with him to get that done swiftly”.

Dame Diana Johnson, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull North who has been a long-time campaigner on the infected blood scandal told the Commons: “Finally, the truth.

“It’s a vindication of the nearly 50 years of campaigning for justice and I want to pay tribute to all those infected and affected and also importantly, those who’ve lost their lives in the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.

“With two people dying on average still every week, I wondered if the Prime Minister understands that whilst accepting the moral case for compensation to be paid in December 2022, the failure of his Government to act on the second interim report by Sir Brian in April ‘23 has added another layer of hurt.

“And I hope very much from what the Prime Minister has said this afternoon, that by the end of this year, compensation payments will start to be made to all those infected and affected.”