Man infected with Hepatitis C during transfusion slams Sunak's call for general election the day after apology

A Newmarket man who was infected with Hepatitis C during a blood transfusion in 1977 has called the government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry “a PR stunt”. Raymond Griffiths spent 30 years unaware that he had the virus.

The transfusion took place while he was undergoing heart surgery at Papworth Everard Hospital. The infection was only diagnosed after a doctor noticed unusual blood test results, and sent him for a Hepatitis C test.

Raymond said: “Rishi Sunak’s public apology was a PR stunt. The following day, he called a general election.

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“It was an attempt to be seen to be doing something, and a promise when they are not necessarily going to be in power to fulfil it. It stinks.

“Now, everybody has forgotten about it. We have moved from front-page news to four pages back, due to election coverage.”

On Tuesday (March 21), the Prime Minister said he was “truly sorry” for the failures that left more than 30,000 people infected after contaminated blood treatments. The Infected Blood Inquiry report, published on Monday, blamed the government, the NHS and doctors for allowing people to contract HIV and Hepatitis in the 1970s and 1980s.

Rishi Sunak went on to say the government would pay “whatever it costs” in compensation payments. On Tuesday, a policy paper on the government’s website suggested victims could get between £35,500 and £2,735,000, depending on the type of infection and the severity of the resulting conditions.

The government made the first interim payments of £100,000 to around 4,000 victims and bereaved partners in November 2022. This included Raymond, who used the money to support his children and ex-wife.

Raymond believes the proposed compensation amounts announced on Tuesday form part of the “PR stunt”, saying: “They are just figures they have brought out to look good.”

Due to the effects of his Hepatitis C treatment, Raymond was forced to stop working as a delivery driver. He said he is thankful that the company he worked for, now called John Henry Group, created a job for him working in the yard – but this still left him with a wage cut.

Last December, opposition MPs and Conservative rebels forced through a key vote to speed up the creation of a body to run a compensation scheme for blood scandal victims. This was Rishi Sunak’s first parliamentary defeat as prime minister.

Ministers then agreed to a demand by Labour for the final compensation system to be in place within three months of the Victims and Prisoners Bill becoming law. Raymond wants this bill to be passed quickly, but is worried that the election will make its progress slower. It is currently at the third reading stage in the House of Lords.