‘Bloody cover up’: what the papers say as Sunak apologizes for the tainted blood scandal

Rishi Sunak’s words rang out on almost all the front pages of major newspapers on Tuesday, as the Prime Minister apologized for the failures of successive governments over the tainted blood scandal and called it a “day of shame for the British state”.

A report released at the end of a five-year public inquiry found that the scandal that claimed the lives of 3,000 people treated with contaminated blood was made worse by a ‘chilling’ cover-up by the NHS and government.

The Guardian characterizes it as the “worst ever NHS treatment disaster”, and shows an image of campaigners gathering outside parliament on the day the report was released.

The Mirror It features images of just some of those who lost their lives in the scandal, with the headline: ‘Face guilty and face justice’.

The Telegraphlike many others, puts Sunak’s words on the front page with ‘A day of shame for the British state’, and then quotes the Prime Minister saying the scandal was the result of a ‘moral failure at the heart of our nation state’. to live”.

Under the heading: the i says victims are demanding change, while quoting a grieving daughter who says Sunak’s apology is “not worth the paper it’s written on”.

The story also runs through a number of local newspapers; The Northern Echo contains a testimony from a man whose father died after being infected with HIV. Dave Farry calls for a criminal investigation.

The Yorkshire Post quotes the MP for Kingston upon Hull North – Dame Diana Johnson – who has long campaigned on the issue, saying it was a ‘vindication of almost fifty years of campaigning for justice’.

The Subway describes it as a “chilling” assessment of the NHS catastrophe”, under the headline “40 years of bloody cover-up”.

The Mail carries the story across the entire front page, with the headline ‘Day that shames the British state’.

The Time says corporate manslaughter charges are pending, describing it as “Britain’s day of shame over contaminated NHS blood”.