Rishi Sunak called to give evidence to Infected Blood Inquiry
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will give evidence to the Infected Blood Inquiry later this month amid complaints the Government is dragging its heels over compensation payments.
Mr Sunak has previously said the Government will wait for the full report into the infected blood scandal before considering whether to extend the compensation scheme for victims.
Mr Sunak will give evidence to the inquiry on July 26, with Chancellor and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt due to appear on July 28.
Commons Leader and former paymaster general Penny Mordaunt will appear on July 24, with current Paymaster General Jeremy Quin at the inquiry the following day.
The ministers will give evidence on the Government’s response to the use of infected blood and the question of compensation.
The chairman of the inquiry has said that an interim compensation scheme should be widened so more people – including orphaned children and parents who lost children – could be compensated.
Sir Brian Langstaff said in April that he was taking the unusual step of publishing the recommendation ahead of the publication of the full report into the scandal so that victims would not face any more delays.
Under the initial scheme victims themselves or bereaved partners can receive an interim payment of around £100,000.
Jason Evans, director of campaign group Factor 8, said: “The decision to call the Prime Minister to testify is a powerful indicator of the seriousness with which the inquiry is treating this matter.
“The situation is urgent and there is a pressing need for resolution and justice for those impacted.
“The delay in implementing the inquiry’s compensation recommendations has raised significant concerns, leading to the unprecedented step of the Prime Minister himself being called to address these issues in front of the inquiry.”
The inquiry was established in 2017 to examine how thousands of patients in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
About 2,400 people died in what has been labelled the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.
Thousands of adults and approximately 380 children received infected blood products or transfusions during treatment by the NHS, the inquiry has heard.
Many had the blood clotting disorder haemophilia and were given injections of the US product Factor VIII.
