Chances of death charges 'remote'

MANY of those responsible for the "pervasive cover-up" will never be held to account because of the slow response to the infected blood scandal, victims have said.

- Hanna Geissler

Lawyers told them and their families the chances of corporate manslaughter charges were "extremely remote".

Criminal barrister Clive Smith, chairman of The Haemophilia Society, said: "There are doctors who should have been prosecuted for manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, doctors who were testing their patients for HIV without consent, not telling them about their infections.

"Those people should have been in the dock for gross negligence manslaughter. Sadly, because of the delay, so many people will not see justice as a result." Mark Ward, 55, was born with severe haemophilia and contracted HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood products.

He said: "Prosecutions have to now happen because the people the SO who were responsible to care for nation really failed significantly and so many lives were lost unnecessarily.

"They can't be allowed to just walk by, go 'Yeah, nice report'.

There has to be justice." He also said the findings vindicate victims like him after years of terrible treatment.

Cover-up

Mr Ward added: "I've gone from being a troublemaker and conspiracy theorist and a liar to having a High Court judge say, 'You were right'. All those people out there on the wrong side of history, I shall be waiting for their apologies."