Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, announced on Wednesday, October 30 that the government is setting aside more than £11.8 billion to pay compensation to the victims of the infected blood scandal.
Reacting to the news, Richard Angell, Chief Executive of HIV / sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “This Budget represents a landmark moment in the decades-long fight for justice by victims of the infected blood scandal. The harm done to them by doctors, our health service and successive governments is a scandal on a scale like no other our country has seen.
“We must never forget the over 1,350 people infected with HIV as a result of contaminated blood products, many of whom did not live to see this day, as well as each and every person and family affected by other blood-borne viruses, such as hepatitis C.
“Sir Brian Langstaff KC, Chair of he Infected Blood Inquiry, called for reassurances to victims ‘preferably by actions rather than by words.’ The Budget today is one of those actions. The £11.8bn allocated for compensation will go a long way to helping the victims if not find closure, at least move forward with their lives.
“Thanks must go to the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Paymaster General for their work on this in the first few months of this government and to the many tireless campaigners who have fought to keep this on the agenda. This is a significant step forward in righting those historic wrongs and a victory for those who have fought so long for justice.”