A Perth campaigner says a compensation pledge from the UK Government is a “historic day” for people affected by a long-running contaminated blood scandal.
Around 4,000 victims of the infected blood scandal are to receive interim compensation payments of £100,000 each after decades of campaigning for justice.
The partners of those who died as a result of the scandal will also be compensated.
This is the first time the government has agreed to give money to the victims of the scandal for loss of earnings, care costs and other lifetime losses.
This is basically acknowledging wrongdoing on their part and admitting the scandal should never have happened.
– Campaigner Bill Wright
Bill Wright, who is chair of Haemophilia Scotland, said the announcement is a “warm welcome”.
But he said the government should go further for the relatives of those who died after receiving infected blood.
“It is a historic day because this is the first time the government has used the word ‘compensation’ and acknowledging compensation needs to be paid,” he said.
“This is basically acknowledging wrongdoing on their part and admitting the scandal should never have happened, which has never happened before.”
He added: “In some cases these people will have been at the very beginning of a potentially successful career and had they not been infected they could have gone on to earn goodness knows how much.
“That is a lost livelihood, so the payments could be very substantial.”
What is the infected blood scandal?
In the 1970s and 1980s thousands of NHS patients with blood disorders such as haemophilia became seriously ill after receiving infected blood through a new treatment called factor VIII or IX.
The medication was made from the pooled blood plasma from thousands of paid donors in the US, including some from high-risk groups such as prisoners.
If a single donor was infected with a blood-borne virus then the whole batch could potentially have been contaminated.
At least 2,400 people died after contracting HIV or hepatitis C through NHS treatments and an unknown number were also exposed to hepatitis B or C through blood transfusions after childbirth or surgery.
Now thousands of these victims of the scandal and the partners of those who died will receive an interim payment of £100,000 from the UK Government.
This compensation will be tax-free and will not affect any support payments these people might already be receiving.
Mr Wright was infected by a blood product in 1986 with hepatitis C.
He went on to develop liver cirrhosis and has been campaigning for justice for the last 20 years.
The announcement from the UK Government says payments will start being made to victims in England from October this year.
However it does not state a specific date when those in Scotland will receive payments.
Concerns over Scottish payment
Mr Wright said: “We need to make sure the money is transferred so people in Tayside receive it at the same time as those in England.
“This is something we are concerned about.”
Mr Wright said he would also like to see the compensation to bereaved relatives to be extended to include children and parents of those who died instead of just partners.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK Government will continue to support those affected by the “horrific” infected blood scandal.
Confirming he announcement, he said: “We will continue to stand by all those impacted by this horrific tragedy, and I want to personally pay tribute to all those who have so determinedly fought for justice.”
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We welcome the UK Government’s announcement on interim payments for those individuals and bereaved partners affected by the tragic and heart-breaking infected blood scandal.
“All those included in the current infected blood support scheme will receive an interim payment of £100,000 and these will be made through the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme, in addition to the ongoing existing support payments.
“The Scottish Government is now liaising closely with the UK Government with the aim of meeting the payment target date of end October 2022.”
