Posted: 13-Jun-2007 << BACK
E-Gov Monitor Link to Inquiry Website www.archercbbp.com
The Governments decision not to send any ministers or civil servants to the public inquiry investigating how thousands of haemophiliacs were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C whilst receiving NHS treatment has been condemned by a cross-party group of MPs.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia has written to the Department of Health demanding more Government cooperation to the ongoing inquiry ahead of a special hearing for Parliamentarians to give evidence on Thursday.
In the letter, the MPs have called on the Department to:
Release all of the remaining documents unpublished that the Department rediscovered before the end of the inquiry. There are believed to be over 4,000 such documents.
Send ministers, civil servants and members of the Departments advisory committees as oral witnesses to answer questions at the inquiry.
Encourage any clinicians involved in the issue to give evidence to the inquiry.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, Jenny Willott who has been campaigning on this issue said:
"Without the complete cooperation from the Department of Health, the inquiry will find it very hard to get a proper picture of how this tragedy ever happened.
"The Government must send all the appropriate ministers, civil servants and members of the Departments Advisory Committees to the inquiry to defend the Governments position.
"If they snub this inquiry, it will be a grave insult to the hundreds of people who have died from having unwittingly received infected blood.
"Ministers have released fewer than 100 of over 4,500 relevant documents that they rediscovered in their archives last year. These must all be released before the inquiry concludes.
"Twenty years after haemophiliacs were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C, during which thousands have died, ministers still say a Government backed public inquiry is not necessary. Surely there can be few cases where such an inquiry is more urgent and justified than this?"
