The Public Inquiry into Infected Blood will publish its final report into the failings that have led to the deaths of more than 3,000 people and destroyed many more lives.
The report will detail how more than 30,000 hemophiliacs or transfusion recipients became infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C over more than two decades, and is seen as a seismic moment for the victims and their families.
Sir Brian Langstaff, the chairman of the inquiry, will share his findings at the Methodist Hall in Westminster on Monday after six years of collecting documents and evidence. The Guardian understands the report will call for prosecution of those responsible.
The scandal has been described as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. People treated by the NHS in Britain between the 1970s and 1990s were exposed to contaminated blood through transfusions, including during complications of childbirth, or, in the case of haemophiliacs, through contaminated ‘factor VIII’ blood products containing were imported from the US.
Donated blood was not screened for HIV until 1986 and not tested for hepatitis C until 1991. The blood products for hemophiliacs were imported from the US, where people were paid to donate, encouraging donations from people at high risk of infection, such as drug addicts. , sex workers and prisoners.
The government will provide a detailed response to the report later this week after Rishi Sunak officially apologized to the victims and their families.
Jeremy Hunt and Keir Starmer have promised justice and compensation for victims without delay, amid an apparent political consensus on the need to quickly right wrongs after decades of failures.
The Chancellor told the Sunday Times that it was the “worst scandal of my life” and that the victims and their families were rightly angry at a generation of politicians, including himself, for doing nothing to tackle the problem. He said all politicians should be “deeply ashamed that it has taken so long”.
But he promised the payments, as part of a total compensation package expected to exceed £10 billion, would be made as “soon as possible”.
Starmer said it was a “mark of shame” that thousands of victims had died without receiving compensation. Writing in the Sunday Times, he said: “We must seize this moment to finally deliver justice. No more warm words, no more false dawns – the time has come for justice.
“I hope we see the right timelines and plans for implementation this week. I promise that Labor will work with the government to make this a reality – without delay.”
The investigation found that there have been sufficient warnings – including from the World Health Organization – about the dangers posed by the lack of screening and the products imported by the US; that HIV test results were hidden from those who were infected; and that ministers destroyed important files at the same time that the threat of legal action was being made.
The victims and families will be looking for recognition that the scandal could have been prevented, and that the blame should be placed at the feet of the pharmaceutical companies, as well as the negligence and cover-up culture of the British government.
Kate Burt, the chief executive of the Haemophilia Society, said: “For decades, governments have dismissed the pain and suffering of those affected by this scandal and refused to acknowledge the enormity of their failure. Far too many people have died believing that no Prime Minister would ever take responsibility for what happened to them.
“Today’s findings from the Infected Blood Inquiry will shock everyone in Britain who cares about the truth and accountability of our public servants. Transparency, integrity and compassion, so lacking in the past, must now be the values that drive our national institutions.
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“Never again can such a damaged community be marginalized and ignored by the institutions created to support them. Radical change must result from this research if we are to learn the lessons of the past and protect future generations from harm.”
The conclusion of the investigation is expected to result in Langstaff passing the documents to the Director of Public Prosecutions to assess whether there are grounds for criminal charges. There have been high-profile calls for corporate manslaughter charges to be brought, similar to France’s approach after the scandal, although this is believed to be legally complex.
It will also pave the way for a compensation scheme for victims and their families. Before the study, only ex-gratia payments had been made through various schemes and trusts.
Langstaff published an interim report in April 2023 confirming that “mistakes have been made at individual, collective and systemic levels”. He recommended that parents and children who have suffered a bereavement should receive an interim payment of £100,000 “to alleviate immediate suffering” and ensure work on the compensation scheme can begin before the publication of the final report.
While the focus on Monday is expected to be on victims, the government is expected to soon outline details of how the compensation process will work, including a “tariff” system that will award the highest payments to those most affected.
The Victims and Prisoners Bill, which is being considered by Parliament, details the government’s plans to establish an infected blood compensation authority within three months of the bill receiving royal assent.