Calls for an inquiry into blood scandal
Time to act over blood scandal
POLITICS: Six party leaders have signed a letter calling on Theresa May to set up an inquiry into blood contamination in a move led by Hull North MP Diana Johnson. It is thought more than 2,400 people have died.
SIX PARTY leaders have signed a letter calling on Theresa May to set up a Hillsborough-style inquiry into blood contamination in a move led by Hull North MP Diana Johnson.
The letter argues recent revelations pointing to possible criminal conduct on the part of officials make a full inquiry necessary into the events which saw patients infected with HIV and hepatitis from NHS-supplied blood products.
Latest estimates suggest more than 2,400 people have died as a result of the scandal.
With the Government only enjoying a Commons majority courtesy of Democratic Unionist Party support, Ms Johnson now hopes MPs could force Mrs May to hold a full inquiry into the affair which the Hull MP described as “the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS”.
The letter to Mrs May is signed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Lib Dem leader Tim Farron as well as their Westminster counterparts for the DUP, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru counterparts.
It says: “We believe those affected have a right to know what went wrong; and why. Whenever public disasters of this kind take place, Government has a fundamental duty to support those affected in getting the answers they need; to disclose everything they know; and to ensure that officials are called to account for their actions.
“We regret that for many decades the victims of the contaminated blood scandal have been denied this right.
“The meagre efforts at investigating this scandal in the UK pale in comparison to those carried out in other countries – where we have seen fines, and even prosecutions, of the officials and companies responsible.”
Ms Johnson has long campaigned on behalf of the victims of the contaminated blood scandal and their families and challenged the Prime Minister on the issue in the Commons last week.
The Hull MP said the Commons had previously been presented with “compelling evidence” of a criminal coverup “on an industrial scale” and asked Mrs May for a public inquiry.
The Prime Minister said the Department of Health would look into the matter. Ms Johnson told The Yorkshire
Post: “Now that all six party leaders at Westminster are calling on the PM to set up a UK inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal it is clear that the majority of Parliamentarians believe that action needs to be taken now.
“Many MPs will have heard first hand from their constituents about lives which have been devastated through this disaster.
“In a hung Parliament MPs from all parties can work together to force the Government to listen and act. This happened in the Queen’s Speech recently and I hope will happen again in this case. This is the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS and already 2,400 people have lost their lives.”
Labour MP Stella Creasy recently used the Government’s precarious position to force ministers to ensure women from Northern Ireland could access abortions in England.
Earlier this year, Andy Burnham used his last Commons speech as Leigh MP to highlight what he described as a “very disturbing echo” between the contaminated blood scandal and the events surrounding the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
He suggested documents showed that patients had been used as “guinea pigs”, that medical records were altered and some victims were smeared.
DIANA JOHNSON, the Hull North MP, deserves great credit for championing victims of the contaminated blood scandal in the 1970s and 1980s that led to the deaths of around 2,400 people. Without her persistence, six opposition leaders would not be backing calls for a Hillsborough-style inquiry.
Yet, while the Government will be reluctant to hold a full public inquiry when it is having so much difficulty setting up the terms of reference for the probe into the Grenfell Tower tragedy, there’s no reason why Theresa May – a Prime Minister committed to fighting injustice – can’t sanction the orderly release of the relevant documents.
Those caught up in the scandal have a right to know, for example, whether medical details were tampered with to hide the cause of their infections. And, while these matters are historic and precede this Government, disclosure will demonstrate that Ministers are, for once, on the side of victims.