London, 22 May 2025 — Delays in compensation payments to victims of the infected blood scandal are not a cost-cutting tactic, a Government minister has insisted, amid growing criticism from campaigners and peers in the House of Lords.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent, speaking on behalf of the Labour Government, dismissed suggestions that the ongoing hold-up in delivering financial redress was financially motivated, calling such accusations “simply not true” and “the most heinous of approaches.”
Her comments come after growing frustration among victims and their families, as well as accusations that the state is once again failing those it so gravely wronged. More than 30,000 people across the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C between the 1970s and early 1990s due to contaminated blood and blood products administered by the NHS. Over 3,000 have since died, and many survivors live with debilitating health complications.
An official inquiry found last year that the disaster “could largely have been avoided” and uncovered a “pervasive” cover-up by authorities. Following the inquiry’s final report, a compensation scheme was announced. However, only 106 payments had been made by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) as of 6 May, amounting to just over £96 million — a fraction of what is expected to be needed to cover the full scope of claims.
Campaigners have warned that the painfully slow progress is exacerbating suffering and undermining public trust. Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Featherstone, who lost her nephew at just 35 years old to hepatitis C contracted through contaminated blood, said victims felt the Government was dragging its feet.
“Two people are dying every week. There’s a feeling that the Government might be saving money by delaying — I don’t actually think that is the case, but the delays allow such theories to develop,” she said.
Lady Anderson responded firmly: “I want to be very clear and put on record that none of the delays is about saving money. That would be the most heinous of approaches, and while I understand that is being said by members of the community, it is simply not true.”
She explained the Government had been cautious about making promises it could not keep, noting that ministers were determined to build a process that was thorough and fair. “We thought the worst thing we could do would be to promise more and not be able to deliver,” she said.
Despite this, she acknowledged flaws in how the scheme was being communicated and executed. “There is still some way to go in terms of IBCA’s communications — they are getting better but there is still progress to be made,” she admitted. She also reiterated that the Government “stands ready to assist in speeding up payments” to those eligible.
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Independent crossbencher Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, whose husband died at 33 in 1993 after contracting HIV from a transfusion, voiced the raw disappointment of those still waiting. “Does the minister agree that the chronic delays in processing claims are lamentable?” she asked. “Only 160 or so of the 30,000 known to be affected received payment in the last year, and people are dying at the rate of one or two a week.”
She added that the complex and bureaucratic nature of the scheme was further distressing victims by forcing them to relive traumatic events in order to claim compensation.
Lady Anderson, in her closing remarks, acknowledged that the state had failed the infected blood community and promised that this Government would not repeat the same mistakes. “Politics failed the infected blood community and we need to make sure that does not happen again — both for this community and any other where the state has let them down,” she said. “I truly believe that politics is a force for good in society.”
For now, campaigners await action, not words — hoping for justice before more lives are lost to a tragedy that should never have happened.
