British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared it a “day of shame for the British state” as he apologized for the failures of successive governments in handling the infected blood scandal.
Sunak promised to provide the necessary funds to compensate the victims of the scandal on Monday.
Sunak’s apology came in the House of Commons, shortly after the release of a report by Brian Langstaff that accused the British government of covering up the disaster.
“The result of this inquiry should shake our nation to its core,” he said.
In his remarks, Sunak criticized the failures of ministers, civil servants, and the NHS in addressing the scandal.
However, Sunak himself faced criticism for not establishing a compensation scheme a year ago when it was first recommended by Langstaff, causing further pain to the victims.
“I want to make a wholehearted unequivocal apology for this terrible injustice,” he stated.
A public inquiry has found that the infected blood scandal in Britain, which led to 3,000 deaths and thousands contracting hepatitis or HIV, was caused by failures on the part of doctors and successive governments.
The inquiry, led by chair Brian Langstaff, revealed that over 30,000 people had received infected blood and blood products from the National Health Service in the 1970s and 1980s, devastating countless lives.
Langstaff stated that the government had concealed the truth to “save face and expense,” describing the cover-up as more insidious and chilling than any orchestrated conspiracy.
The infected blood scandal in Britain had devastated thousands of lives, with victims and families long seeking justice.
One victim, Stephen Lawrence, contracted HIV and hepatitis C at age 15 after receiving blood following an accident, but his records had gone missing, hampering his fight for justice.
The British government did make interim compensation payments of 100,000 pounds to some victims in 2022.
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