Correspondence

Committee Update - 17 February 2026

Updated 9 March 2026

This is an update from the Infected Blood Memorial Committee.

Thank you to everyone who has registered their interest in attending the memorial service at St. Paul’s Cathedral on 19th May 2026.

So far, over 1,200 members of the community have registered to attend.

This number clearly reflects the importance of this event to so many, especially for those who may be nearing the end of life or reaching a stage where travel is becoming difficult or even impossible.

As a Committee, we feel our community deserves the highest level of recognition. St. Paul’s Cathedral is a place of national significance.

To many who will be making the journey to London, we know that the area of St Paul’s is familiar to those who attended the Inquiry hearings at both Fleetbank House and Aldwych.

Equally, we have heard the strength of feeling from many who feel that this is not the right time for such an event. We understand that there are those who don’t feel able to attend, particularly due to unresolved issues around compensation.

Memorial Service Register of Interest – Closed

We have now closed the register of interest. This is to allow the Committee time to verify those on the list and confirm their place. We are aiming to confirm places in the first week of March.

If you have not registered, it may still be possible to attend, as we will be operating a waiting list. We will share details of this soon.

Memorial Service – Frequently Asked Questions

We know there have been some questions circulating in the community. We hope the below provides some answers and reassurance.

How are the community going to be involved in the design of the service?

• We will share a survey with service attendees soon. This will ask the attendees for their input on several aspects of the service. We hope this helps people feel connected to the design of the service.

Does the cost of this event take away from compensation?

• The funding for this is separate from the money allocated to pay compensation.

Are you going to provide travel expenses for attendees?

• This is something that we are considering in our February Committee Meeting. We will confirm details of this with those who have registered their interest in attending when we confirm places at the service.

2nd Memorial Committee Meeting

The Memorial Committee held its second meeting on Thursday, 22 January. During this, they:

• Agreed their Terms of Reference
• Agreed to delegate responsibility for the Memorial Service to a sub-committee
• Discussed feedback from the Church House event on memorial location and principles
• Heard from a member of the Grenfell Memorial Commission about their experience

You can see the readout of this meeting online.

You can read the Memorial Committee’s Terms of Reference online.

Memorial Committee Vice Chair

Expressions of Interest for the position of Vice Chair closed on 13 February. The Chair will now progress the applications with those who applied.

Due diligence checks will be carried out on the successful candidate.

Their name will be shared with community representatives to ensure there is consensus on their appointment.

We hope to share further updates with you soon. Kind regards,

The Infected Blood Memorial Committee

Psychological Support: Free, comprehensive, and historically informed Infected Blood Psychological services are now operational across the whole of the UK via self-referral.