Police should look at charging people over infected blood scandal, says minister

21 May 2024 , 08:03

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Families who lost loved ones after they were given infected blood gather in London (Image: PA)

Prosecutions of officials and corporate manslaughter charges over the infected blood scandal should be "looked at'', a Tory Cabinet minister has said.

Mel Stride also said a "full and comprehensive" compensation scheme for thousands of victims will be announced later today to Parliament. It comes after an inquiry report found the Government and NHS had covered up the truth in the contaminated blood scandal which led to 30,000 infections of HIV and Hepatitis and over 3,000 deaths.

Key documents were also deliberately destroyed and the inquiry chairman concluded on Monday the disaster was “not an accident” and “could largely, though not entirely, have been avoided".

Cabinet Minister Mel Stride said a compensation package will be announced today (Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

Campaigners have demanded that those responsible for infected blood mistakes should be brought to justice. Andy Burnham, the Labour ex-Health Secretary, called for corporate manslaughter charges to “rock Whitehall to its foundations”. Mr Burnham said: “There must be accountability and there must now be full consideration of prosecutions."

Appearing on Times Radio, Mr Stride was pressed on whether officials and politicians should be considered and whether he supported the idea of corporate manslaughter charges. He replied: "I think all of those things should and will be looked at. Of course things such as criminal charges are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service - not matters for the Government per se.

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"But I have no doubt all of those things will be extremely carefully looked at, because in that 2,700-page report, there are many questions and many short failings that have surfaced, and they all need to be looked at very carefully. And it is not inconceivable that what you've described may be something that transpires".

The Work and Pensions Secretary also told GB News: “Justice is following up robustly on the findings of the report. In the case of corporate manslaughter and criminal charges and proceedings then clearly that is a matter for the police and for the Crown Prosecution Service. But these matters will be looked at very carefully, of that I can absolutely assure you.”

Ashley Cowburn