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Sunak Apologizes for Infected Blood Scandal

The scandal has been called “the worst treatment disaster” in the history of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS)…reports Asian Lite News

The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologised for the infected blood scandal on behalf of successive governments and declared it was a “day of national shame”.

Addressing the House of Commons following the publication of the inquiry, Sunak said on Monday: “I want to make a whole-hearted and unequivocal apology for this terrible injustice.”

He also promised to pay “comprehensive compensation” to those infected and those affected by the scandal, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay it,” he said, adding that details will be set out on Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, a damning 2,527-page inquiry concluded that the contaminated blood scandal in the UK which has caused more than 3,000 deaths, “could largely, though not entirely, have been avoided.”

The report said that “a catalogue of failures” by successive governments and doctors caused the “calamity,” in which tens of thousands of patients with haemophilia and other bleeding disorders were infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses after receiving infected blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s.

“It may also be surprising that the questions why so many deaths and infections occurred have not had answers before now,” the report added.

The scandal has been called “the worst treatment disaster” in the history of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).

The report also revealed that there has been “a hiding of much of the truth” by the government and the NHS “to save face and to save expense”.

Such a cover-up was “not in the sense of a handful of people plotting in an orchestrated conspiracy to mislead, but in a way that was more subtle, more pervasive and more chilling in its implications,” it said.

The scandal was linked to supplies of a clotting factor imported from the US, which used blood from high-risk paid donors.

The government announced the establishment of a UK-wide public inquiry in 2017 to examine the circumstances that led to individuals being given contaminated blood and blood products.

In 2022, the government made interim compensation payments of 100,000 British pounds (about $127,000) to about 4,000 infected individuals and bereaved partners who were registered with the country’s infected blood support schemes.

Report: Over 3,000 Deaths in UK Blood Scandal

 A contaminated blood scandal in the UK, which has caused more than 3,000 deaths, “could largely, though not entirely, have been avoided,” according to the inquiry report on the scandal.

The report said on Monday that “a catalogue of failures” by successive governments and doctors caused the “calamity,” in which tens of thousands of patients with haemophilia and other bleeding disorders were infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses after receiving infected blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s, Xinhua news agency reported.

“It may also be surprising that the questions why so many deaths and infections occurred have not had answers before now,” the report added.

The scandal has been called “the worst treatment disaster” in the history of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).

The report also revealed that there has been “a hiding of much of the truth” by the government and the NHS “to save face and to save expense”.

Such a cover-up was “not in the sense of a handful of people plotting in an orchestrated conspiracy to mislead, but in a way that was more subtle, more pervasive and more chilling in its implications,” it said.

The scandal was linked to supplies of a clotting factor imported from the US, which used blood from high-risk paid donors.

The government announced the establishment of a UK-wide public inquiry in 2017 to examine the circumstances that led to individuals being given contaminated blood and blood products.

In 2022, the government made interim compensation payments of 100,000 British pounds (about $127,000) to about 4,000 infected individuals and bereaved partners who were registered with the country’s infected blood support schemes.

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UK govt refuses to apologise to asylum seekers after ‘error of law’

The Home Office said: “We must do all we can to prevent the further tragic loss of life on the Channel and put an end to dangerous people-smuggling across our borders…reports Asian Lite News

The UK Home Office and Crown Prosecution Service have refused to issue apologies to a group of asylum seekers who were wrongfully jailed after crossing the English Channel, The Independent has reported.

British judges have so far overturned 12 cases, presenting an obstacle for the Home Office campaign to clamp down on Channel crossings.

The migrants, mostly hailing from Iraq and Iran, were prosecuted for “facilitating illegal immigration” after steering small vessels across the Channel.

And despite the Home Office’s extended campaign to label the men as “people smugglers,” the government body has still not acknowledged the overturning of their convictions.

After the UK Court of Appeal identified an “error of law,” the asylum seekers who had been jailed were released and had their convictions overturned. More are expected to be released later this year.

The Home Office said: “We must do all we can to prevent the further tragic loss of life on the Channel and put an end to dangerous people smuggling across our borders.

“We continue to work with the CPS and National Crime Agency to crack down on and prosecute smugglers who risk lives for profit. These cruel people could face life sentences under our Nationality and Borders Bill.”

Regardless of the claims, the court found that none of the convicted asylum seekers had profited from their trips or were part of any organized crime group.

A CPS spokesperson said: “We won’t hesitate to prosecute those suspected of immigration offenses if our legal test for a prosecution is met and against the law as it currently stands.

“Since prosecuting these cases, new judgments have clarified a very complicated section of law. Immediate steps have been taken to develop updated legal guidance for investigators and prosecutors.”

Lord Justice Edis, the lead judge in the appeals heard so far, said in reference to earlier convictions that the “crown court proceeded on an error of law in that regard.”

A legal ruling in December, that overturned four convictions, stated that “as the law presently stands, an asylum seeker who merely attempts to arrive at the frontiers of the UK in order to make a claim is not entering or attempting to enter the country unlawfully.

“Even though an asylum seeker has no valid passport or identity document or prior permission to enter the UK, this does not make his arrival at the port a breach of an immigration law.”

This legal precedent could change under the government’s proposed Nationality and Borders Bill, which would change the prosecution guidelines to “arrival” as opposed to “entry.”

A government statement said that the proposed bill would “allow prosecutions of individuals who are intercepted in UK territorial seas and brought into the UK.”

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Johnson urged to apologise  

Starmer was confronted by angry protesters on Monday who surrounded him after an anti-Covid vaccination demonstration…reports Asian Lite News

After protesters hounded Britain’s opposition leader Keir Starmer, Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under heavy pressure to withdraw a claim that Starmer had failed to prosecute one of the country’s most notorious child abusers.

Johnson is facing the gravest crisis of his 30-month premiership after a series of scandals including revelations that he and his staff attended Downing Street parties during Covid lockdowns.

As Johnson apologised to parliament for the parties on Jan. 31, he falsely claimed Starmer had failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile, a late TV star who abused hundreds of children, during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). 

Starmer was confronted by angry protesters on Monday who surrounded him after an anti-Covid vaccination demonstration.

As the Labour Party leader was escorted into a police car, some of the protesters shouted “Traitor!” and “Were you protecting Jimmy Savile?” at him.

“It is really important for our democracy and for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full,” said Julian Smith, a lawmaker in Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party.

Another Conservative lawmaker, Roger Gale, said: “This, I fear, is the direct result of the deliberately careless use of language in the Chamber.”

The row risks further undermining Johnson’s authority as he battles to reshape his Downing Street team and face off claims from opposition parties that he is unfit to govern.

Opposition lawmakers called on Johnson to apologise for the Savile remarks.

Savile, a BBC TV and radio host who was never prosecuted despite a number of police investigations, died in 2011, aged 84. After his death it was revealed he had abused hundreds of victims, mainly children. The youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy.

Johnson’s supporters said that while the behaviour of the protesters was unacceptable, it was a step too far to pin the blame for their actions on the prime minister.

Johnson said on Feb. 3 that he had not meant to imply Starmer had personally failed to prosecute Savile, but he has refused to apologise for his remarks.

Johnson’s attempt to clarify his remarks failed to satisfy Munira Mirza, his head of policy who had worked with him for 14 years, and prompted her to quit her job last week. Finance minister Rishi Sunak has said he would not have made such remarks.

House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who previously ruled that Johnson’s comments on the matter were inappropriate but not against parliamentary rules, told lawmakers he had requested a report on the incident from police.

“These sorts of comments only inflame opinions and generate disregard for the House…,” he said. “Our words have consequences and we should always be mindful of that fact.”

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