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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has apologized for the decades-long infected blood scandal that saw thousands of people infected with HIV and hepatitis through contaminated blood products.
The Infected Blood Inquiry, which concluded after a long-awaited report, found that over 30,000 people were infected with the viruses between the 1970s and early 1990s.
The report revealed a catalogue of failures and cover-ups, with successive governments and health professionals failing to mitigate risks despite knowing about the dangers of blood-borne infections.
Victims of the scandal, which has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the National Health Service (NHS), included those needing blood transfusions for accidents and surgery, as well as those with blood disorders like haemophilia.
The report found that children with bleeding disorders were treated as "objects for research" and that in one school where 122 pupils with haemophilia were given infected blood products, only 30 now survive.
Sunak has promised "whatever it costs" to compensate victims, with the total figure expected to be above 10 billion pounds when the government announces the package.
The Infected Blood Inquiry was launched in 2017 by former Prime Minister Theresa May and campaigners have hailed the report as the culmination of a decades-long struggle, although they note that it comes too late for many victims who will never see justice.
The scandal has raised serious questions about the role of government and healthcare professionals in protecting public health and has led to calls for a full public inquiry to uncover the full extent of the cover-up and hold those responsible to account.
The victims and their families have suffered unimaginable pain and loss, and the government must now do everything in its power to provide them with the support and compensation they deserve.
Source: "I Am Truly Sorry": UK PM Apologises For Infected Blood Scandal Cover-Up