Infected blood scandal victims to get tax-free compensation

Victims of the infected blood scandal will receive interim payments to compensate them for the “unimaginable pain” they have suffered, the Government will announce this week.

Ministers are expected to announce that the payments will be tax free and will not affect individuals’ benefit entitlements.

Thousands of NHS patients with haemophilia and other blood disorders were infected with HIV or hepatitis C by contaminated blood products imported from the US in the 1970s and 1980s, with nearly 3,000 dying from the scandal.

Last week Sir Brian Langstaff, chairman of the infected blood public inquiry, said that surviving victims - as well as bereaved partners of those killed - should be offered interim compensation of no less than £100,000.

The idea would be to fund immediate bills and care needs, with final recommendations on compensation coming when the inquiry concludes next year.

This week the Government will announce that interim payments will be made as soon as possible.

Work has taken place across the Cabinet Office, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure that the compensation does not have an “unintended impact” on victims’ tax obligations or benefit payments.

The work has been coordinated by Kit Malthouse, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with Boris Johnson pushing for the payments to be made as soon as possible.

A No 10 source said: “The infected blood scandal was a tragedy for everyone involved and the Prime Minister strongly believes that all those who suffered so terribly as a result of this injustice should receive compensation as quickly as possible.

“He has tasked ministers with resolving this issue so that interim payments can be made to all those infected as soon as possible, and we will set out the full details later this week.”

A Government source added: “We know the thousands of people that fell victim to this scandal have suffered unimaginable pain and not only is it right that they receive compensation, but that they get that cash into their bank accounts as quickly as possible.

“That is why on the back of Sir Brian Langstaff’s report a few weeks ago, ministers across government have been looking very closely at how best to right this historic wrong. Given the heartbreaking position many victims find themselves in, there is a desire at the top of government to move this at pace so we can give those people clarity and assurance at the earliest opportunity.”

A letter sent on Thursday to the Prime Minister by three former health secretaries - Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock and Andy Burnham - warned “already more than 400 people have died since the inquiry started”, with “some estimating that one infected person is dying every four days”.

Listen to Bed of Lies, a Telegraph podcast on the Infected Blood Scandal, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.