Correspondence

Response letter from The Minister of the Cabinet Office to the Chair, Sir Brian Langstaff dated 1 April 2026 (HTML)

Published 2 April 2026

Sir Brian Langstaff

Chair, Infected Blood Inquiry

April 2026

Thank you for your letter of 31 March. I am responding formally and in writing to confirm I am content for the transfer of documents to the National Archive.

I want to pay tribute to you and your team at the Inquiry for your hard work over the last eight years. As you have rightly observed on many occasions, the ultimate credit for the Inquiry’s achievements is due to the victims infected and affected by this scandal, and I would like to join you in thanking them for their courage and persistence, which has been essential in establishing the truth and beginning to rectify past injustices. It is also important to recognise the personal difference that you have made. Your leadership, and your team’s unwavering commitment to recognising the human element of this tragedy, has defined the inquiry’s approach to navigating one of the most complex and sensitive scandals in recent history. It serves as a testament to public service.

You have given voice to a community that felt silenced for decades by placing the lived experiences of the victims and their families at the heart of your proceedings. In doing so your work has provided those impacted with the recognition and validation they deserve. I want to acknowledge the strength shown by those who shared their deeply personal accounts with the Inquiry, in order that their experiences could inform the Inquiry’s recommendations, and in doing so, effect real systemic change. In the first Inquiry Report you noted that the harm done to those infected and affected was compounded by failures to acknowledge mistakes, a lack of transparency, defensiveness, and many other failures that further contributed to their suffering. The scale of the Infected Blood scandal, and the weight of the collective experience of the victims, can be felt in the over 4000 personal accounts submitted to the Inquiry.

This is why the findings of the Inquiry must be met with tangible, systemic change. This Government is determined to learn from the errors of the past and eradicate the culture of defensiveness that allowed this scandal to proliferate. In its place, we are committed to building a culture of candour and honesty, ensuring the UK’s institutions can command the utmost confidence of the people they serve.

Since the Inquiry’s first report in May 2024 we have made important progress in delivering redress. Over 3,200 offers of compensation have been made, with over £2 billion paid in compensation and over £1.4 billion paid in interim compensation payments. There is still much more to do on compensation and whilst money alone can never fix the harm done, I am determined to deliver fair redress as quickly as possible to provide individual recognition and allow both infected and affected people to get on with their lives. The Government has also established the Infected Blood Memorial Committee, which is organising a national service of recognition, remembrance and reflection at St Paul’s Cathedral in May.

We have already fully implemented several of the recommendations you made in your additional report in July 2025. As noted in your letter, the remainder of your recommendations were subject to a public consultation which closed earlier this year, and later this month I will bring forward a package of changes to the compensation scheme in response to your additional report and the views expressed by the community through that consultation.

The Inquiry has demonstrated the importance of placing the community at the heart of our response, and in your letter you rightly highlighted the importance of continuing to engage with the Infected Blood community representatives as a route to hear those voices. I agree that the community should have the opportunity to understand and challenge the decisions that matter to them going forward. In your Additional Report you recommended that an enduring mechanism be put in place to allow people to raise concerns about the structure or administration of the compensation scheme, and to have those concerns acted upon. I will set out the Government’s plans to respond alongside our response to the public consultation later this month, and the mechanism will become active from that point.

Lastly, you will be aware that the Government is considering broader reforms to the public inquiries system in order to deliver better outcomes for victims, and to allow lessons to be learnt more swiftly. We greatly appreciate the thoughts and observations annexed to your letter providing a vital and unique perspective as the Chair of one of the highest profile inquiries in recent years.

Thank you again for your exemplary work chairing the Infected Blood Inquiry. Your work - and that of your team - leaves a powerful legacy which the State must continue to act upon. I know that you will ·continue to be a passionate advocate for the community and I am at your disposal should you wish to discuss the Government’s ongoing response in future.

Yours sincerely,

RT HON NICK THOMAS-SYMONDS MP

MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE

HIS MAJESTY’S PAYMASTER GENERAL