Infected blood compensation thanks to Sedbergh man, says Jeremy Hunt

The 2,527-page report from the Infected Blood Inquiry, published on Monday, found the infected blood scandal ‘could largely have been avoided’ and there was a ‘pervasive’ cover-up to hide the truth.

Patients were treated with blood products imported from America and with blood that had been taken from high-risk donors, such as drug addicts and prisoners.

Mike Dorricott, from the Yorkshire Dales town, was one of those affected.

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Mr Hunt said he had made a promise to Mr Dorricott, who at the time was living in Mr Hunt’s Surrey constituency, ‘for a fair and full’ settlement.

Mr Dorricott was 46 when he met with the Chancellor in 2014 and shared his anger at the fact that infected patients and their families had not yet received a full and fair settlement.

Just weeks before the meeting, Mr Dorricott had learned that he had terminal liver cancer as a result of hepatitis C - contracted as a teenager from contaminated Factor 8 blood products.

Just a few months after the meeting, aged just 47, Mr Dorricott died.

The former Health Secretary said before the Government issued an apology: “What is announced by the government will be thanks to Mike more than anyone else. And it’s one of the saddest things that he’s not around to see it."

After the announcement, Mr Hunt took to his X page to further comment on the scandal that affected tens of thousands of people between the 1970s and early 1990s and killed over 3,000 people.

Dubbing it the ‘worst example of an establishment cover-up’ he had ever seen, he paid tribute to the victims both infected and affected - including a personal reference to Mr Dorricott.

“To the victims, to everyone impacted, and particularly to brave Mike Dorricott who first came to me about this nearly two decades ago - the government offers its fullest apology, as the PM set out today,” he said.

“There are no two ways about this - we and previous governments should have acted sooner than we did.”

The government’s compensation scheme means that people living with an HIV infection as a result of the scandal could receive between £2.2 million and £2.6 million.

Payments for people living with hepatitis vary from £35,500 for an ‘acute’ infection up to £1,557,000 for the most severe illnesses caused by the virus, according to the figures.

People infected with both viruses could be paid up to £2.7 million, figures show.

Family members of those infected would also be eligible for compensation.

Cabinet Office minister John Glen on Tuesday announced that many will also benefit from further interim compensation payments of £210,000 within 90 days.

Health secretary Victoria Atkins said she was ‘working with the NHS Business Services Authority to ensure that all those eligible receive a second interim payment of £210,000 as soon as possible.’

She said: "This terrible history of failures, experiments, disbelief, and cover-ups has stolen the lives of victims and their families; instead of birthdays, careers, freedoms and joy, the victims' lives are measured in pain, mental anguish, the crushing burden of stigma and the agony of wondering what could have been. Never again."

Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron, who has done a lot of work with victims across South Cumbria, spoke before the announcement following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s declaration of Monday being a ‘day of shame for the British state.

Mr Farron said: "The Infected Blood Scandal was a tragedy followed by an outrageous cover up that has taken the lives of thousands of people, including many people here in Cumbria, and robbed their loved ones of justice.

“For the apology from the Prime Minister to have any kind of meaning, his government must do the right thing and give real justice to those who have been so tragically left behind, by giving them the financial compensation that they are owed.”