Infected blood scandal: Sunak says report publication ‘a day of shame for the British state’

Rishi Sunak has offered a “wholehearted and unequivocal” apology to the victims of the infected blood scandal, saying it is a “day of shame for the British state”.

The prime minister said the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s final report should “shake our nation to its core”, as he promised to pay “comprehensive compensation to those infected and those affected”.

The report from the inquiry’s chair Sir Brian Langstaff blamed “successive governments, the NHS, and blood services” for failures that led to 30,000 people being “knowingly” infected with either HIV or Hepatitis C through blood products.

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