Rishi Sunak has made a “wholehearted and unequivocal apology” for the infected blood scandal in what he said was a “day of shame” for the British state.
The Prime Minister responded to the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry which found the “catastrophic” and “horrifying” scandal “could largely have been avoided” – and that there was a “pervasive” cover-up in a bid to hide the truth of the biggest NHS treatment disaster.
Over 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses while receiving NHS care from the 1970s to the 1990s, in a disaster inquiry chairman Sir Brian Langstaff called a “calamity”.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Sunak said: “This is a day of shame for the British state.
“Today’s report shows a decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life – from the NHS to the civil service, to ministers in successive governments, at every level the people and institutions in which we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way.
“They failed the victims and their families and they failed this country.”
He continued: “I want to make a wholehearted and unequivocal apology for this devastating injustice… It did not have to be this way, it should never have been this way.
“This is an apology from the state to every person affected by this scandal. And on behalf of this government and every government stretching back to the 1970s: I am truly sorry.”
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Sunak said the Infected Blood Inquiry’s 2,527-page report of findings was “unimaginable” and “should shake our nation to its core”, calling it “layer upon layer of hurt across decades”.
He noted that “to our eternal shame” some patients, including children were “allowed to become objects of research”.
The Prime Minister promised to pay “comprehensive compensation” to those affected and infected by the scandal. “Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay it,” he added.
Ministers have earmarked around £10bn for a compensation package for those affected, which is expected to be announced later this week.
Sunak said there could be “no moving on from a report that is so devastating” and promised ministers would consider all the report’s recommendations in full and return to the House.
“We will work to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen in our country again,” he vowed.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Britain “failed to protect some of the most vulnerable in our country” and added: “Politics itself failed you. That includes my own party. There is only one word – sorry.”