‘Infected blood scandal victims must be compensated now to right this outrageous moral injustice’

Southport MP Damien Moore has called for immediate payments to victims of the infected blood scandal.

Mr Moore was speaking on behalf of his constituents in Southport whose lives have been affected by the issue. 

Their personal, heart-breaking stories have had an enormous impact on his work in Westminster. 

As he outlined in his contribution to Parliament, all 19 recommendations laid out by Sir Robert Francis QC relating to compensation should be adopted as soon as possible, as without adopting them, Mr Moore’s constituents are continuing to be deprived of compensation that they deserve.

Last week the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Jeremy Quin MP, gave a statement on the Infected Blood Inquiry in the House of Commons, following the publication of the Second Interim Report by the Chair of the Inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff.

Mr Moore has long called for victims and victims’ families to be adequately compensated at the earliest opportunity. 

At the Minister’s statement, Mr Moore again raised the urgency of making these compensation payments as soon as possible, and called on the Government to ensure that there are no further delays.

Speaking in the House Of Commons, he said: “On behalf of my constituents affected, I welcome the sensitivity with which the Government has been dealing with this situation. 

“However, the lack of urgency is undermining the good will of victims and their families, and it is letting them down every single day. 

“How long will it be between accepting one of these points and implementing them? Would it not be easier to implement them now? 

“Listening to Members today, I think that the best thing to do would be to implement them and work on getting the support to families as soon as possible.”

Mr Moore argued that there is a strong moral case for the government to provide compensation to close family members of victims who have been directly affected by the devastating impact on their loved ones who were given infected blood.

The publication of Sir Robert’s full report is anticipated to be later this year. Mr Moore’s office in Southport remains open to provide support to constituents affected by the scandal.

Damien Moore, Member of Parliament for Southport, said: “I remain appalled that the victims of this tragedy are not only yet to receive the full compensation they deserve, but that many victims’ families, including some of my constituents in Southport, are yet to receive any compensation at all.

“I have again called in Parliament, speaking in the House of Commons, for the Government to pay compensation to victims’ families as soon as possible, and to right the outrageous moral injustice that this tragedy has caused.

“I will continue doing all I can to support my affected constituents in Southport.” 

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