Prime Minister Apologises For Contaminated Blood Scandal

David Cameron has apologised on behalf of the British government to victims of the contaminated blood scandal. The Prime Minister also confirmed £25 million of funding to improve financial support for the NHS patients who were infected with hepatitis C and HIV during the 1970s and 1980s. It comes after a comprehensive inquiry, set up by the Scottish Government to investigate what went wrong, called for people who had a blood transfusion before 1991 to now be tested for hepatitis C. The probe, chaired by Lord Penrose, found more should have been done to screen blood and donors for hepatitis C in the early 1990s and said the collection of blood from prisoners should have stopped earlier. Mr Cameron said: "To each and every one of those people I would like to say sorry on behalf of the Government for something that should not have happened". Lord Penrose is seriously ill and was not present at the publication event, held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. A statement was read out on his behalf by inquiry secretary Maria McCann. But some families shouted out "whitewash'' as soon as the inquiry statement ended. Bill Wright, from Haemophilia Scotland, begged people to stay to listen to him, saying: "This is by no means the end of the story.'' One woman shouted: "We've shed enough tears.'' Mr Wright said, sobbing: "I am one of you, I am infected.'' He said of the report: "It's not about broken processes, it's about broken lives.'' He said now was the time for an apology. He added that there was now light at the end of a very long tunnel. "We will, together, finally get this thing done.''