Mr Sunak stated that the conclusions of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s final report should “shake our nation to its core,” and promised to give “comprehensive compensation to those infected and affected,” adding, “Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay.”
The report from the inquiry’s chair, Sir Brian Langstaff, criticized “successive governments, the NHS, and blood services” for mistakes that resulted in 30,000 people being “knowingly” infected with HIV or Hepatitis C via blood products. Approximately 3,000 individuals have now died.
The prime minister stated that any government apology must be “accompanied by action” in order to be “meaningful.”.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Sunak described it as a “calamity,” claiming that the report revealed a “decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life,” as he condemned the actions of the NHS, civil service, and ministers – “institutions in which we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way.”
