Infected blood scandal: Bereaved relatives in government compensation plea

The son of a man who died after he was given infected blood is among those handing in a letter to the government calling for wider compensation.

Jason Evans from Coventry is among signatories to hand over a letter on Monday amid complaints the government is dragging its heels over the issue.

Government's ministers are set to appear before the Infected Blood Inquiry this week.

"People are dying without seeing any acknowledgement," said Mr Evans.

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.

Commons Leader and former paymaster general Penny Mordaunt gave evidence on Monday.

Concerns of delays in the Government's approach to compensation were put to Ms Mordaunt, and she was asked if, hypothetically, the Government was deliberately dragging its feet, whether that would be morally objectionable.

She replied: "yes", it would be, but added: "That has not been my experience in my current role."

Elsewhere in her evidence, she said: "I do not think there is any delay to moving as quickly as we can on these matters, and it would have been pointless to have set up this inquiry and the (compensation framework) study not to then proceed with making redress."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will appear on Wednesday and the Chancellor and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is due to appear on Friday.

Surviving victims and families of the bereaved received interim compensation payments of about £100,000 from the government in October.

But the chairman of the infected blood public inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff, said the scheme should be widened so more people, including orphaned children and parents who lost children - could be compensated.

Mr Evans was four years old when his father Jonathan, a carpenter, died in 1993 after he contracted both HIV and hepatitis C during treatment.

"We need action to happen now because people are dying, not just people infected but the bereaved families as well," he said.

"We know that 380 children were infected with HIV, many of those died in childhood, and their parents are now in their 80s.

"We know of people who have died only recently," he said.

"This delay denies victims and their families any sense of tangible progress," the letter from relatives to the government said.

"Many continue to die without full redress, this can not be right.

"The interim payment for deaths not yet recognised is critical."

A government spokesman said it "accepts the moral case for compensation and work is ongoing across the UK Government and in consultation with the devolved administrations to consider as quickly as possible the recommendations put forward in the inquiry's second interim report."

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