ON MONDAY evening (May 20), Rishi Sunak apologised on behalf of the British government to the victims of the contaminated blood scandal.

After a five-year public inquiry, the Prime Minister offered an “unequivocal” apology for the findings published in Sir Brian Langstaff’s report earlier on May 20.

The findings were damning.

They included the revelation that ministers, doctors and civil servants knew the risks of the blood products given to haemophiliacs and people needing blood transfusions.

Victims were “gaslit” by claims that the mass infection of those patients with HIV and hepatitis C was inadvertent, that screening started as soon as it could, and that no one could have stopped it sooner.

None of those things were true.

Under successive Labour and Conservative Governments, the Department of Health and HM Treasury fought against a public inquiry and the idea of paying compensation to those affected by being given tainted blood products.

Officials fobbed off ministers who tried to look into what had happened, complaining that they had too much sympathy for the victims.

When briefing documents for ministers got close to revealing the truth, civil servants doctored their content to misrepresent their authors’ findings.

While Mr Sunak apologised for the failures of the British state and Sir Kier Starmer for a “failure of politics”, the blame doesn’t rest only at Westminster’s door.

Welsh Government ministers are specifically mentioned for refusing to hold a public inquiry and not seeking advice specific to Wales. Instead, despite having responsibility for the NHS in Wales, they slavishly followed Westminster’s line.

Welsh Government ministers failed to examine the strength of the evidence UK ministers and officials relied upon or assess the evidence available in Wales.

Had they done so, they would have found key claims – that all infections were inadvertent and patients received the best possible treatments – were untrue and unfounded.

Only in 2017 did the Welsh Government change tack, when then-Health Minister Vaughan Gething wrote to his UK counterpart, Jeremy Hunt, to request a UK-wide public inquiry.

Ironically, only Theresa May’s political weakness following the 2017 General Election led the Westminster Government to order a public inquiry. Mrs May feared losing a Commons vote on the demand for one.

The worst elements of the scandal are clinical and institutional.

Clinicians, Department of Health officials, and others concealed the truth to avoid blame and liability.
The inquiry pointed to medical advice on the dangers of blood and plasma dating back 40 years and court rulings that showed other countries had started screening sooner.

Doctors claimed they hadn’t seen evidence of infection through those products even while treating people who had contracted AIDS from their treatment with them.

Documents disappeared, were “lost”, and patient records were deleted.

Leading clinicians withheld critical information from patients and their families.
Children with haemophilia were treated as guinea pigs.

The list of severe historic and continuing failings is almost unending.

The government’s easiest task is paying compensation. Addressing the culture of secrecy and institutional arrogance will be much harder.

For more on this story, see this week’s edition of The Pembrokeshire Herald.

ANGLE All-Weather Lifeboat was requested to launch at 10pm on Sunday night (May 19).

The Coastguard had received a call reporting a female in difficulty in the water off Fort Road, Pembroke Dock.

The Lifeboat launched and began making best speed to the area, arriving on scene just 10 minutes later.

The Police and Ambulance Service also attended and were waiting in Hobbs Point car park.

The Port Authority Pilot Vessel ‘St Davids’ had not long arrived on scene and commenced searching, and members of the Dale Coastguard Rescue Team were on the beach with the first informant conning the Lifeboat on to the approximate position of the casualty.

The crew could hear the casualty screaming, and shortly after she came into view in the Lifeboat’s searchlights.

Heading immediately for her, she began to struggle further and on numerous occasions began to slip below the surface.

Just in time, the crew reached out a boat hook which the casualty managed to grab hold of where she was then floated into the Lifeboat’s man overboard recovery cradle and recovered onboard.

The crew immediately began warming and reassuring the casualty whilst carrying out a thorough casualty care assessment.

The decision was made to redirect all assets to Hobbs Point where the Lifeboat would come alongside.

A few minutes later once secure alongside, the crew were met by members of Dale, Tenby and St Govan’s Coastguard Rescue Teams, Paramedics and Police Officers.

The casualty was safely walked ashore to an awaiting ambulance.

With no further assistance required, the lifeboat and her crew were stood down to return to station where she was readied for further service by 11:45pm.

The RNLI said: “A huge thanks to the crew of the pilot vessel for their quick response and valuable assistance in searching, and to the Coastguard for their direction to the casualty. A fantastic example of multi-agency teamwork!”

A CALL for an independent public inquiry into the ongoing situation at Withyhedge landfill site has been made by local Senedd Member Paul Davies. Mr Davies made the call in the Senedd Chamber, whilst asking the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs just how bad the situation had to get before the local community could receive some support from the Welsh Government.

Resource Management Ltd (RML), which operates the Withyhedge site has already been issued several Enforcement Notices by Natural Resources Wales and yet local residents are still living with potentially toxic odours and emissions.

Mr Davies said, “Week after week I have stood up in the Senedd Chamber and asked for the Welsh Government to intervene to support the local community. People have complained of coughs, nausea and swollen eyes and yet despite the sympathetic words of Government Cabinet Secretaries, there has been no support forthcoming.”

“The people of Pembrokeshire deserve better and so I’m calling for an independent public inquiry to fully understand why this situation has been so poorly handled and why my constituents have been so badly let down.”