PM statement on the Infected Blood Inquiry: 20 May 2024
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's statement to the House of Commons on the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Mr Speaker, Sir Brian Langstaff has today published the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry.
This is a day of shame for the British state.
Today鈥檚 report shows a decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life.
From the National Health Service to the civil service, to ministers in successive governments鈥�
鈥t every level, the people and institutions in which we place our trust鈥�
鈥ailed in the most harrowing and devastating way.聽
They failed the victims and their families 鈥� and they failed this country.聽
Sir Brian finds a 鈥渃atalogue鈥� of systemic, collective, and individual failures鈥�
鈥ach on its own serious鈥�
鈥nd taken together amounting to a 鈥渃alamity鈥�.
And the result of this inquiry should shake our nation to its core.
This should have been avoided.聽聽
It was known these treatments were contaminated.聽
Warnings were ignored. Repeatedly.聽
Time and again people in positions of power and trust had the chance to stop the transmission of those infections.
Time and again they failed do so.聽
Sir Brian finds an 鈥渁ttitude of denial鈥� towards the risks of treatment.
Worse, to our eternal shame, in a way that is hard to even comprehend鈥�
鈥hey allowed victims to become 鈥渙bjects for research鈥�.
Many 鈥� including children at Lord Mayor Treloar College - were part of trials鈥�
鈥onducted without their or their parents鈥� knowledge or consent.
Those with haemophilia or bleeding disorders were infected with HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B through NHS treatment鈥�
鈥hrough blood clotting products, such as Factor 8鈥�
鈥ncluding those who had been misdiagnosed and did not even require treatment.
Many were infected through whole blood transfusions.
Others were infected through their partners and loved ones鈥�
鈥ften after diagnoses had been deliberately withheld for months or even years鈥�
鈥eaning these infections should easily have been prevented.聽聽
I find it almost impossible to comprehend how it must have felt鈥�
鈥o be told you had been infected - through no fault of your own - with HIV, or Hepatitis B, or Hepatitis C鈥β�
鈥r to face the grief of losing a child, or to be a young child and lose your Mum or Dad.聽
Many of those infected went on to develop horrific conditions including cirrhosis, liver cancer, pneumonia, TB, and AIDS鈥�
鈥nduring debilitating treatments like interferon for these illnesses 鈥� illnesses the NHS had given them.
Many were treated disdainfully by healthcare professionals who made appalling assumptions about the origin of their infections.聽
Worse still, they were made to think they were imagining it鈥�
鈥ade to feel stupid.
They felt abandoned by the NHS that had infected them.
Those who acquired HIV endured social rejection, vilification, and abuse鈥�
鈥t a time when society understood so little about the emerging epidemic of AIDs.聽
With illness came the indignity of financial hardship鈥�.聽
鈥ncluding for carers and those widowed and other bereaved family members.聽
And throughout it all, victims and their loved ones have had to fight for justice鈥�
鈥ight to be heard, fight to be believed, fight to uncover the full truth.聽
Some had their medical records withheld, or even destroyed.
And the inquiry finds that some Government papers were destroyed鈥�
鈥n a 鈥渄eliberate attempt to make the truth more difficult to reveal.鈥�
Sir Brian explicitly asks the question 鈥渨as there a cover-up?鈥澛�
Let me directly quote his answer for the House:
鈥淭here has been鈥�.
He continues: 鈥淣ot in the sense of a handful of people plotting in an orchestrated conspiracy to mislead鈥�
鈥ut in a way that was more subtle, more pervasive and more chilling in its implications.
To save face and to save expense there has been a hiding of much of the truth.鈥�
Mr Speaker, more than 3,000 people died without that truth.聽
They died without an apology.聽
They died without knowing how and why this was allowed to happen鈥�
鈥nd they died without seeing anyone held to account.聽
Today, I want to speak directly to the victims and their families 鈥� some of whom are with us in the gallery.聽
I want to make a wholehearted and unequivocal apology for this terrible injustice.
First, to apologise for the failure in blood policy and blood products, and the devastating - and so often fatal 鈥� impact this had on so many lives鈥�
鈥ncluding the impact of treatments that were known or proved to be contaminated.
The failure to respond to the risk of imported concentrates.
The failure to prioritise self-sufficiency in blood.聽
The failure to introduce screening services sooner.
鈥nd the mismanagement of the response to the emergence of AIDS and hepatitis viruses amongst infected blood victims.
Second, to apologise for the repeated failure of the State and our medical professionals to recognise the harm caused.
This includes the failure of previous payments schemes鈥�
鈥he inadequate levels of funding made available鈥�
鈥nd the failure to recognise Hepatitis B victims.
And third, to apologise for the institutional refusal to face up to these failings 鈥� and worse, to deny and even attempt to cover them up.聽
The dismissing of reports and campaigners鈥� detailed representations.
The loss and destruction of key documents including Ministerial advice and medical records.
And the appalling length of time it took to secure the public inquiry which has delivered the full truth today.
Mr Speaker, layer upon layer of hurt, endured across decades.
This is an apology from the State - to every鈥� single鈥� person鈥� impacted by this scandal.聽
It did not have to be this way.聽
It should never have been this way.聽
And on behalf of this and every Government stretching back to the 1970s鈥�
鈥 am truly sorry.聽
Mr Speaker, today is a day for the victims and their families鈥�
鈥o hear the full truth acknowledged by all鈥�
鈥nd, in the full presence of that truth, to remember the many, many lost loved ones.聽
But justice also demands action and accountability.
So I make two solemn promises.聽
First, we will pay comprehensive compensation to those infected and those affected by this scandal鈥�.
鈥ccepting the principles recommended by the inquiry which builds on the work of Sir Robert Francis.
Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay it.聽 聽
And my Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office will set out the details tomorrow.聽
Second, it is not enough to say sorry, pay long overdue compensation and then attempt to move on.聽
There can be no moving on from a report that is so devastating in its criticisms.聽
Of course, in some areas medical practice has long since evolved.
And no-one is questioning that every day our NHS provides amazing and lifesaving care to the British people.
But Sir Brian and his team have made wide-ranging recommendations.聽
We will study them in detail before returning to this House with a full response.
And we must fundamentally rebalance the system鈥�
鈥o we finally address this pattern, so familiar from other inquiries like Hillsborough鈥�
鈥here innocent victims have to fight for decades just to be believed. 聽聽聽
Mr Speaker, the whole House will join me in thanking Sir Brian and his team鈥�
鈥specially for keeping the infected blood community at the heart of their work.聽聽
We would not be here today without those who tirelessly fought for justice for so many years.聽
I include journalists and Parliamentarians in both Houses鈥�
鈥� especially the Rt Hon Member for Kingston upon Hull North.聽
But most of all, the victims, and their families鈥�
鈥any of whom have dedicated their lives, leading charities, and campaign groups鈥�
鈥ouring their own money into decades of running helplines, archiving, researching, and pursuing legal cases鈥�.聽
鈥ften in the face of appalling prejudice.
It is impossible to capture the full pain and injustice they have faced.聽
Their sorrow has been unimaginable.
They have watched loved ones die.聽
Cared for them as they suffered excruciating treatments or provided their palliative care.聽
Many families were broken up by the strain.
Hundreds of thousands of lives have been knocked off course; dreams and potential unfulfilled.
But today their voices have finally been heard.聽
The full truth stands for all to see.聽
And we will work together across government, our health services, and civil society鈥�
鈥o ensure that nothing like this can ever happen in our country again.
And I commend this statement to the House.