Webinars: UK Memorial Draft Principles and Location
The Infected Blood Memorial Committee hosted two webinars in July to update the community on their progress and to share their current thinking regarding the UK Memorial.
Webinars
We understand how important it is to keep you informed and involved at every stage of this process. The purpose of these webinars was to discuss our recent work, present our proposed location and guiding principles for the UK Memorial, and, most importantly, listen to your continued feedback.
If you were unable to join us, or if you would like to watch the presentation again, you can view recordings of the webinars:
On this page we also want to share a written summary of the key information shared during the session.
Work of the Infected Blood Memorial Committee
The webinar began by setting out the work of the Committee so far. The Memorial Committee was appointed in October 2025 and its membership is composed of individuals with direct lived experience, representing all routes of transmission across all four nations of the UK.
Since October, the Committee’s focus has largely been on the delivery of the first two commemorative events:
- 19 November 2025 (Church House, London): Began the national conversation on memorialisation, gathering early community views on themes, locations, and the emotions the community wished the memorial to convey.
- 19 May 2026 (St Paul’s Cathedral): Held a service on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Inquiry report to recognise and remember all those impacted by the contaminated blood scandal.
Proposed UK Memorial Location
The Committee’s focus is now turning to the delivery of the Infected Blood Memorials.
As per the recommendations made by Sir Brian, there will be Infected Blood Memorials in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. There will also be a memorial at Treloar’s school. In addition, the Inquiry’s Memorial is now permanently housed at Manchester University.
Because separate memorials are already established or planned in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Committee has agreed that the overarching UK Memorial should be located in England. However, a decision is needed on where in England the UK Memorial should be.
During the webinar we set out our current working hypothesis regarding the location of the UK-memorial. Based on the evidence gathered so far, the Committee is working on the hypothesis that the UK Memorial should be in London.
Feedback from the community so far has indicated that there is no one location for a UK Memorial that will satisfy every member of the community.
In all forms of feedback London has been the most popular site for a memorial. This includes the feedback that was sought from the community before, during and after the Church House event.
In the feedback received prior to the Church House event there were only two respondents who felt a memorial should not be in London. There were many more responses that stated a memorial should not only be in London, but also other areas of the UK.
These wishes are met by the Committee’s commitment to supporting memorials being built in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and at Treloar’s school.
Proposed Guiding Principles
The Committee has put together a draft set of principles to sit behind the UK Memorial. The principles are intended to help the Committee articulate what we understand the community wishes the UK Memorial to reflect and what you wish the memorial to do.
The principles will also offer a useful guide to whoever is chosen to design the memorial itself. It will help the design team understand what the community wishes to feel when visiting the memorial and guide their design decisions.
The feedback shared by the community at the Church House event offered the basis for the Committee to think about what these principles should be and the drafts you see today are built on the community’s feedback.
The Committee has suggested five guiding principles for the UK Memorial. The titles of the principles are:
- Pillar 1: Truth, Justice, and Reflection
- Pillar 2: Remembrance and Recognition
- Pillar 3: Inclusivity and UK-Wide Accessibility
- Pillar 4: A Living and Evolving Space
- Pillar 5: Transparency and Stewardship
Share Your Views
We want to ensure that this memorial truly reflects the needs and wishes of those impacted. The full texts of the proposed guiding principles are printed in the questionnaire linked below.
We invite you to read through them and share your thoughts with us by filling out our questionnaire by Monday 10th August.
We know that not everyone has online access and if there is anyone you know that you are able to give feedback on behalf of, we would very much appreciate your assistance and their feedback.