UK fast-tracks payments for blood scandal victims

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STORY: BRITISH MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE, JOHN GLEN, SAYING: “We are establishing the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, an arm's length body to administer the compensation scheme."

:: May 19, 2024

The British government on Tuesday said it would set up a body to pay compensation to victims of a tainted blood scandal and added that many were eligible for interim payments of over $260,000 each even before a plan to pay "comprehensive compensation" is up and running.

That comes a day after a damning report that blamed the state and doctors for failures that killed over 3,000 people.

Here's cabinet minister John Glen in Parliament:

“If you have been directly or indirectly infected by NHS blood, blood products or tissue contaminated with HIV or Hepatitis C, or have developed a chronic infection from blood contaminated with Hepatitis B, you will be eligible to claim compensation under the scheme.”

:: May 19, 2024

Victims and their families held a vigil in Westminster on Sunday.

Blood transfusions administered by Britain's state-funded National Health Service in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in more than 30,000 people contracting hepatitis and HIV.

Much of the donated blood was sourced from high-risk groups, such as prisoners, and pooled together.

:: May 20, 2024

PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK: "This is a day of shame for the British state."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a "wholehearted unequivocal apology for this terrible injustice" on Monday.

Glenn said that for victims who had died, compensation would be paid to their estates.

People who cared for victims, such as partners and parents, could apply for compensation in their own right, he said.

The government did not set out a budget. However, press reports have put the total cost at more than 10 billion pounds, or $12.7 billion.