MPs vote for infected blood compensation body as Sunak suffers first commons defeat

In the House of Commons yesterday, MPs voted to establish a compensatory body for victims of the infected blood scandal.

Despite the government issuing a three-line whip to vote down the proposal, an amendment tabled by Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson was voted through on a majority of 246 to 242.

The government had intended to wait until the statutory inquiry finishes to introduce a compensatory scheme, which is likely to happen next year.

It is Rishi Sunak’s first defeat as prime minister, having been in office for over a year.

Among the Conservative rebels were Sir Robert Buckland, Rehman Chishti, Tracey Crouch, Marcus Fysh, Damian Green, Sir Julian Lewis, Andrea Jenkyns, Tim Loughton and Chloe Smith.

In total, 22 Conservatives voted against the government, alongside 160 Labour MPs, as well as the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and other smaller parties.

Speaking in the debate, Dame Diana said: “Many of those who’ve spent decades campaigning for justice are no longer alive. It’s almost eight months now since April this year, when Sir Brian Langstaff published the Infected Blood Enquiry’s final recommendations on compensation.

“He stated, ‘My conclusion is that wrongs were done at individual, collective and systemic levels'”.

Dame Diana added: “How disappointing it is that [this] government is mounting a very hard three-line whip operation to defeat these amendments and new clauses. It is shocking when ministers have stood at that despatch box and said very clearly that they accept the moral case for compensation. Well, if they accept the moral case for compensation, now is the time. Do the right thing.”

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