Minutes of the Third Infected Blood Memorial Committee Meeting- 19 February 2026
Published 9 March 2026
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Attendees
- Infected Blood Memorial Committee
- Committee Secretariat
- UK Government
- Scottish Government
- Welsh Government
- Northern Ireland Executive
National Memorial Location Options
The Committee discussed their early thinking regarding the establishment of a national memorial, and reflected on the feedback already received from the community. that the decision on a location should be taken before commissioning a design.
The Committee did not feel it had undertaken sufficient consultation with the community to take high level decisions on where the national memorial should be located. They agreed to engage the community to gather further views about a national memorial’s location. The Committee also agreed to draft a set of principles to help articulate what the memorial should do and convey, and put this to the community for comment.
The Committee discussed whether memorials should be built in all 4 nations of the UK, as per the Inquiry’s recommendation to consider this, and the Committee unanimously agreed that there should.
St. Paul’s sub-Committee Decisions
The Committee discussed the invite list for St. Paul’s, noting that this is a highly sensitive area, with a view to sending out formal invitations in early March. The Committee also agreed its approach to covering attendees’ expenses, observing that this should be limited to infected and affected attendees, and that this should be an opt-in approach to ensure that those claiming expenses are those who need to.
The Committee discussed ideas for the order of service and provided some steers ahead of a meeting with the Cathedral events planning team. The Committee agreed to consult the community on elements of the service, to ensure that the event is designed by the community, for the community.
The Committee agreed not to hold a formal post-service reception, due to unavailability of suitable locations to host everyone. Instead, the Cathedral will be open for an hour prior to the event, and remain open for an hour after. Community groups will be encouraged to organise gatherings.
The Committee agreed that the service should be recorded, and should attract an element of media coverage.
Next Steps
The Committee agreed to meet in person in Manchester at its next meeting on March 24 2026.