Thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal will each receive an interim compensation payment of £100,000, the Government has announced today.
The Government intends to make payments to those who have been infected and bereaved partners in England by the end of October. The same payments will be made in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The commitment to pay interim compensation meets, in full, the recommendations set out by inquiry chairman Sir Brian Langstaff in his interim report last month. That report built on the study by Sir Robert Francis QC in his detailed consideration of the issues. Details were announced by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Kit Malthouse today.
The intention is that payments will be tax-free and will not affect any financial benefits support an individual is receiving.
Infected individuals and bereaved partners who are registered with any of the four UK infected blood support schemes will receive payment.
Advice to those people on how exactly the interim payment will be made will be outlined to them shortly.
The fiasco resulted in an estimated 2,400 deaths of patients infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
While nothing can make up for the pain and suffering endured by those affected by this tragic injustice, we are taking action to do right by victims and those who have tragically lost their partners by making sure they receive these interim payments as quickly as possible.
We will continue to stand by all those impacted by this horrific tragedy, and I want to personally pay tribute to all those who have so determinedly fought for justice.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said:
The infected blood scandal should never have happened. In accepting Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations, today we are taking an important step in righting this historic wrong for the thousands of people infected and bereaved partners left behind.
