LONDON (AP) — British authorities and the country’s public health service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products, and hid the truth about the disaster for decades, an inquiry into the U.K.’s infected blood scandal found Monday.
An estimated 3,000 people in the United Kingdom are believed to have died and many others were left with lifelong illnesses after receiving blood or blood products tainted with HIV or hepatitis in the 1970s to the early 1990s.
The scandal is widely seen as the deadliest disaster in the history of Britain’s state-run National Health Service since its inception in 1948.
Former judge Brian Langstaff, who chaired the inquiry, slammed successive governments and medical professionals for “a catalogue of failures” and refusal to admit responsibility to save face and expense. He found that deliberate attempts were made to conceal the scandal, and there was evidence of government officials destroying documents.
Mystery artist who erected signs comparing pothole
Fire kills 43 in Bangladesh capital
Fire at industrial building in Ōtaki
Ben Whishaw lights up the Croisette as he joins his co
EDITORIAL: Sex offender checks must protect children, human rights
Week in Politics: Luxon stands out, benefit action under scrutiny and grief over Efeso Collins
Prime Minister's Auckland office vandalised for third time in six months
Jon Wysocki dead at 53: Staind drummer passes away
Socialite Jasmine Hartin enjoys beach snuggle with electrician hunk
Immigration declines nearly half of study visa applications from India so far this year