There was an incredible turnout for yesterday’s mass lobby to demand that the government take action on compensation for people infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal.
The lobby, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood in conjunction with campaign groups, was an opportunity to lobby MPs to help force government action.
The the event attracted strong support from MPs from across the House, with more than 30 politicians meeting with their constituents.
To coincide with the protest, Dame Diana Johnson MP asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions why, 11 months after the Infected Blood Inquiry recommended that full compensation should be paid, no action had been taken. Mr Sunak said the government accepted the “moral case for compensation”. However, the government’s position that it will not respond to this issue until the inquiry’s final report is published in May has not changed.
After Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition, also headed to Westminster Hall to engage with campaigners. When asked whether a potential future Labour government would provide compensation, he said “yes”, but added he hoped the matter would be resolved before then.
Rachel Halford, CEO of The Hepatitis C Trust, said: “Today’s lobby reflects the community’s profound frustration and distress after more than 50 years without justice. The Government’s refusal to act is actively harming these people, people whose lives have already been devastated by infected blood. They deserve better than this. We are calling the Government to act: accept responsibility for this terrible scandal and pay compensation now.”
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