What happened in the UK’s infected blood scandal? Inquiry report will be revealed on Monday
Associated PressMay 30
UK: Compensation for Victims of NHS Infected Blood Scandal Announced
story
Image copyright: Pool/Pool/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Victims of the NHS-infected blood scandal will receive interim compensation payments, Minister John Glen announced to parliament on Tuesday.
This comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a public apology on Monday over the scandal, calling it a "decades-long moral failure," and saying he was committed to compensating the victims.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The final report by the UK's infected blood inquiry, and the subsequent apology by Sunak and other government officials, is a powerful step towards justice for victims of this heinous scandal. The government has apologized for past mistakes and has promised to ensure that they are not repeated in the future. While nothing can truly make up for the pain and suffering this scandal and cover up caused victims and their families, a formal acknowledgment of wrongdoing by the government and a promise of compensation is better than nothing.
Establishment-critical narrative
While it is admirable that Sunak has made a formal apology for the UK's infected blood scandal, and has promised compensation to the victims, the truth of the matter is that the UK government was deeply involved in a corrupt cover up from the very beginning. Despite knowing the risks of viral infections from blood products, the government failed to implement adequate safety measures promptly enough and ignored the warnings of experts. Authorities then engaged in downright deception by destroying evidence and deceiving patients and the public. If that wasn't bad enough, institutional defensiveness in the NHS and a delay in action by the government meant that it has taken decades for this inquiry to happen, leading many to die before receiving the answers and apologies they deserved.
