Infected blood victims ‘betrayed’ by cover-up as hepatitis C test warning issued

The chair of the infected blood inquiry is currently delivering a speech on the findings of the report.

Sir Brian Langstaff began his speech by inviting the audience to give a wide round of applause to all those involved in the report.

Watch live as infected blood scandal campaigners react to an inquiry’s findings that politicians, doctors, and civil servants were involved in a chilling cover-up of the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS:

Rishi Sunak’s Government has compounded the suffering of the victims of the infected blood scandal with the “sluggish pace” and lack of transparency on compensation, an inquiry into the disaster in the NHS has found.

The Prime Minister’s insistence on waiting for the conclusion of the Infected Blood Inquiry before making a final decision on redress has “perpetuated the injustice for victims”, its chairman, Sir Brian Langstaff, said in his final report.

He criticised the “litany of failures” by successive governments from the early 1970s, with no action taken even as it became known that the collection of blood from prisons led to an increased risk of hepatitis transmission.

Read the full report here:

Rachel Halford, CEO of The Hepatitis C Trust, said: “Today’s report represents six years of concerted effort by Sir Brian Langstaff and the Inquiry team to uncover the truth about the cause of the contaminated blood scandal.

“After decades of relentless campaigning, this community finally has answers in black and white. Systemic, collective and individual failings and cover-ups have led to one of the gravest disasters this country has ever seen.

“Among its shocking findings, the report has brought to light evidence that much more could have been done to prevent hepatitis C and HIV infections from blood and blood products, and to help those infected.

But far beyond these failings, it makes clear that people – including many children – were deliberately given deadly viruses, treated as “objects for research”.

She called for the government to take responsibility and to stop its delays for compensation.

More than 30,000 people were given “life-shattering” infections of HIV and hepatitis via the blood products, most of which “could and should have been avoided”, the report released on Monday concluded.

Read the full article from Tara Cobham here:

One of the key recommendations made by Sir Brian Langstaff in his report is that anyone who received a blood transfusion before 1996 should urgently be offered a test for Hepatitis C.

The virus affects your liver and can often show no symptoms, but can be very serious if left untreated.

A group of victims of the infected blood scandal have called for doctors involved in the scandal to be prosecuted with gross negligence manslaughter.

They said: “Those people should have been in the dock.”

However, more than half a century after the first contaminated blood was transferred in 1970, they said the decades-long delay for a public inquiry to conclude means “so many people will not see justice”.

Andy Evans, chairman of the Tainted Blood campaign group, added: “This has gone on for so long now that people that were around at the time will be very hard to track down if they’re even still alive.”

The delay “really is in this case, justice denied,” he said.

The victims of the contaminated blood scandal have demanded former health secretary Ken Clarke apologises for his “absolutely appalling” behaviour towards the hemophiliac community.

Speaking to reporters after the publication of an inquiry’s damning report into the scandal, the group of victims also said Lord Clarke showed “disdain for the inquiry itself and its process” when he gave evidence.