The United Kingdom is set to spend more than £10 billion ($12.70 billion) in compensation for thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal, one of the worst treatment disasters in the history of the state-funded National Health Service (NHS). The Sunday Times reported that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will make an official apology ahead of the publication of an independent inquiry report on Monday, with the government announcing the compensation package as early as Tuesday.
The infected blood scandal, which took place in the 1970s and 1980s, saw an estimated 30,000 people given contaminated blood or blood products, some of which were imported from the United States. These treatments were administered to individuals needing transfusions or as treatment for hemophilia, resulting in the infection of thousands with HIV or hepatitis C. Approximately 3,000 people are believed to have died as a result of the contaminated treatments, with many more lives affected by disease and some infected individuals never having been traced.
Finance minister Jeremy Hunt told the Sunday Times, "I think this is the worst scandal of my lifetime. I think that the families have got every right to be incredibly angry that generations of politicians, including me when I was health secretary, have not acted fast enough to address the scandal." Hunt did not confirm the cost or funding arrangements of the compensation scheme, which will be financed by borrowing.
The long-awaited final report from the public inquiry, set up under former prime minister Theresa May in 2017, is expected to call for those responsible to face prosecution. Although the inquiry process, chaired by former judge Sir Brian Langstaff, has no scope to determine civil or criminal liability, it is believed that the report will recommend prosecutions, potentially including current or former NHS figures.
Des Collins, a senior partner at Collins solicitors who has acted as a solicitor and adviser to about 1,500 victims and their families, said that recommendations for prosecution would not surprise him at all. "The interim report criticised the whole system - individual collective and systemic - that level of culpability can only point to corporate manslaughter or criminal negligence," he stated.
However, the likelihood of prosecutions actually happening remains uncertain and could involve yet another long wait for those affected. Corporate manslaughter, in particular, is a complex offense to prosecute, with only a few dozen cases since its introduction in 2008 and only a handful involving the NHS.
The inquiry has heard evidence alleging that civil servants, the government, and senior doctors knew of the problem long before action was taken to address it and that the scandal was avoidable. Andy Burnham, a former health secretary and mayor of Greater Manchester, has been one of the highest-profile proponents of the case for corporate manslaughter.
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, called it a "mark of shame" that thousands of victims had died without receiving compensation. In an article for the Sunday Times, he wrote, "We must seize this moment to finally deliver justice. No more warm words, no more false dawns - the time has come for justice. I hope this week we see proper timelines and plans for delivering. I promise Labour will work with the government to make this a reality - without delay."
Victims and bereaved relatives of the infected blood scandal have been calling for justice, compensation, and answers for decades. The government has already paid £100,000 of interim compensation to some victims at an estimated cost of around £400 million following a recommendation from the inquiry in 2022.
