Read a summary of this week’s inquiry evidence

Written by Jessica Bomford, May 22, 2021

The Infected Blood Inquiry looked at the UK’s infected blood support schemes this week, calling health ministers from the four home nations to give evidence.

Civil servants and infected blood support scheme administrators also gave evidence over four days of hearings. For the first time this year, some evidence was heard live at the inquiry’s HQ at Fleetbank House in London.

The four ministers giving evidence were: Mairi Gougeon, Scotland’s Minister for Public Health and Sport (until 20 May 2021), Robin Swann, Northern Ireland’s Minister of Health for Department of Health, Vaughan Gething, Wales’ Minister for the Economy, and Minister for Health and Social Services from 2016 to May 2021 and Matt Hancock Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the UK government.

The hearings looked at the way in which the schemes were set up, what support they offered and investigated the differences between the four services. Witnesses were also asked about compensation for victims of the contaminated blood scandal and whether government had a moral responsibility to address what happened to those infected and affected.

Click here for a summary of this week’s evidence.

Transcripts of the evidence are available here. A weekly summary of all previous hearings can be found here.