Blood inquiry to probe fears of cover-up
THE contaminated blood inquiry will examine whether there was an attempt to cover up the scandal, its chairman said yesterday.
The probe will consider the treatment of thousands of people in the 1970s and 1980s, who were given blood products infected with hepatitis viruses and HIV, and the impact this had on their families.
The terms of reference, published yesterday, say the inquiry will consider “whether there have been attempts to conceal details of what happened” through the destruction of documents or withholding of information.
It will also consider if those attempts were deliberate and if “there has been a lack of openness or candour” in the response of the government, NHS bodies and other officials to those affected.
Cardiff North Assembly Member Julie Morgan has welcomed the new inquiry after campaigning on the issue for nearly two decades, while charity Haemophilia Wales described yesterday’s announcement as a “pivotal moment for families who have seen their lives torn apart for more than 30 years through no fault of their own”.
Sir Brian Langstaff, chairman of the inquiry, vowed he would “put the people who have been infected and affected” at its heart.
Jason Evans, whose father Jonathan died after being infected with HIV, said the terms of reference “encompass all the main issues that I would have and I think the wider community has”.
Prime Minister Theresa May announced last year an inquiry would be held into the events of the 1970s and 1980s, when thousands of haemophiliacs and other patients in the UK were given infected blood products, leaving at least 2,400 people dead.
The announcement was welcomed at the time by campaigners, who have been pressing for years for an inquiry into the import of the clotting agent Factor VIII from the US.
Much of the plasma used to make the product came from donors such as prison inmates, who sold blood which turned out to be infected.
Sir Brian, a retired high court judge, said a consultation on the terms of reference raised concerns there had been a “coverup”.
In a letter to victims and those affected, he said: “Two themes emerged clearly from the consultation – first, that many were concerned that the inquiry should report quickly.
“Second is a strong suspicion that government, officials, public organisations and the medical profession have tried to cover up what has gone on, have knowingly failed to share information about life-threatening infections, and have failed to support the people affected and their families.”
The role of government, in particular the Department of Health, pharmaceutical companies, licensing authorities, NHS bodies, the medical profession and other organisations, will be considered by the inquiry.