My father died of Aids because of the infected blood scandal – it’s time victims like him received justice

In a week that has seen wrongly-convicted victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal finally receive long-overdue compensation, those impacted by the infected blood scandal are still waiting for the government to take action. Jason Evans, whose father died due to Aids after being infected by dangerous Factor VIII blood products, explains why justice is still so urgently needed...

It is estimated that 70 victims have died waiting for compensation since last April (Factor 8)

A long-awaited breakthrough has dominated this week’s headlines: the government’s commitment to compensate and exonerate victims of the Post Office scandal. As I read through the details of compensation for each wrongfully convicted individual, a mixture of emotions swirled within me. Relief and solidarity for those affected by the Post Office scandal, indeed – but also a deep, resounding frustration for those of us impacted by the infected blood scandal who are still waiting for justice.

My journey through the infected blood scandal is both personal and painful. I lost my father, Jonathan Evans, to Aids. Back in 1993, when my father passed away at the age of 31, I was only four years old. He had been infected with HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) through dangerous Factor VIII blood products – and worse still, it was known by government, pharmaceutical companies and certain medical professionals that those products were infected.

Speaking to Andrew Marr on LBC Radio earlier this week, former secretary of state for health Andy Burnham said: “I was told by my officials that nobody was knowingly given contaminated blood products and I know that now to be a lie.”

Burnham is correct – throughout the Infected Blood Inquiry, victims and bereaved families have seen the black-and-white documents detailing the extent of what was known about infected blood products.

In March 1983, a leading US medical publication (MMWR) published a paper stating, “Blood products … appear responsible for Aids among haemophilia patients”, and two months later, the UK’s leading epidemiologist and disease surveillance director, Spence Galbraith, wrote to the government making clear that Factor VIII should be withdrawn from use due to the Aids risk. Galbraith’s message to withdraw the dangerous products was not followed.

Ministers were warned time and time again by medical professionals that Factor VIII was infected with both Hepatitis C and HIV, yet nothing was done until it was too late. It was not until mid-to-late 1985 that dangerous Factor VIII faded out of use, though it was never officially withdrawn.

Even before Aids, the dangers of hepatitis in plasma products made from thousands of donors, like Factor VIII, were known decades before people like my father were even born. For example, in January 1953, the World Health Organisation issued a clear warning that plasma products should be made from small pools of 10 to 20 donors, not thousands, precisely because of increased hepatitis risk.

Despite all of this knowledge about the dangers of Factor VIII, the government licensed pharmaceutical companies to sell these products in the UK.

The sense of loss and injustice has been a constant companion throughout my life, shaping my actions and leading me to establish the Factor 8 campaign group and take out a group legal action against the government.

As someone deeply entrenched in the struggle for recognition and compensation in the infected blood scandal, the government’s response to the Post Office victims brings both hope, and a sense of urgent disparity. While I applaud the government’s actions to rectify the injustices faced by the victims of the Post Office scandal, I can’t help but draw parallels to the plight of those affected by the infected blood scandal.

On Thursday this week, responding to a question from MP Dame Diana Johnson, leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt said: “We were all shocked by the layer on layer of injustice that was levelled against those who suffered in the Post Office Horizon scandal. Terrible and shocking as that was, the right honourable lady and I know that the Infected Blood Inquiry is on another level. We want to ensure people get justice, whether they were infected directly or were affected in some way. We are determined to do that, and I know that the paymaster general is going to deliver.”

Sadly, these warm words promising action are ones we’ve heard before. In April 2023, the Infected Blood Inquiry published its final compensation recommendations, concluding that a compensation scheme should be established and operational before the end of 2023, with interim payments made to all bereaved families. Throughout last year, ministers gave endless promises to parliament.

Well, here we are in 2024, and the government hasn’t responded to any of the inquiry’s final compensation recommendations. It is estimated that 70 victims have died waiting for compensation since last April.

While the Post Office scandal victims are promised substantial compensation and a swift overturning of convictions, those impacted by the infected blood scandal continue to wait. For decades, we have fought for recognition, for justice, and for compensation that truly reflects the physical, emotional, and social toll this scandal has exacted on its victims and their families.

My family, like so many others, has suffered immeasurably. The loss of my father, the stigma attached to his illness, and the subsequent years of battling for the truth and learning the horrifying facts have been a relentless struggle. It is a struggle shared by thousands, each with their own story of pain and injustice.

It’s time for the government to step up and right the wrongs of the past, not just for the victims of the Post Office scandal, but for all those who have suffered due to governmental and institutional failures. Justice delayed is justice denied, and for the victims of the infected blood scandal, justice has been delayed for far too long.

Justice should not require a TV drama; we live the drama daily, and it is our seemingly endless reality.

Jason Evans is director of Factor 8, and the lead claimant in the contaminated blood products group litigation