Infected blood Final report vindicates the families still awaiting justice

"We have been gaslit for generations," was the reaction of Andy Evans, chair of the campaign group Tainted Blood, in response to the final report into the contaminated blood scandal, which was published on Monday.

- Haroon Siddique

More than 30,000 people in the UK, 3,000 of whom have died, were infected with tainted blood from the 1970s through to the early 90s, either from receiving transfusions during surgery, or through products created using blood plasma and imported to treat haemophiliacs.

To many who were infected, or whose parents, children, partners or other loved ones were, the report -the long-awaited conclusion to a five-year public inquiry - merely confirmed what they already knew.

They have long maintained that this was a preventable tragedy, compounded by persistent attempts to evade accountability. In that sense, Sir Brian Langstaff's report, which details numerous examples of opportunities missed to mitigate risks and says in black and white that there was a "cover-up", offers them vindication.