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Rishi Sunak was heckled for failing to answer questions over delays to a full compensation scheme for victims of the NHS infected blood scandal.

The prime minister’s evidence to the infected blood inquiry was met with groans, jeers and even laughter from those listening.

The reaction prompted Sir Brian Langstaff, chair of the inquiry, to remind people watching Mr Sunak that there is a tradition of “respecting the witness”.

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Thousands of people died in what is widely recognised as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS after being given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

Campaigners want to see all those infected and affected paid compensation, as recommended by the inquiry chair, but the government has said it will wait for a full report into the scandal before deciding on the matter.

Mr Sunak recognised that the scandal is not just about “historic wrongs”, accepting that every four days someone dies as a result, with only an interim payments scheme for victims and bereaved partners set up so far, in October 2022.

More on Infected Blood Inquiry

However, he declined to give a timeframe for when the scheme might be widened to those whose children or parents died.

Asked by inquiry counsel Jenni Richards KC if he understands if justice delayed is justice denied, Mr Sunak said victims have been “let down for decades by successive governments”.

But the audience groaned and one person said “you don’t listen” when he appeared to distance himself over delays during his time in cabinet.

Mr Sunak faced questions over correspondence about preparing for the “inevitable” compensation scheme sent to him by Penny Mordaunt, then paymaster general, when he was chancellor in 2020.

 Rishi Sunak gives evidence at Infected Blood Inquiry
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Rishi Sunak gives evidence at infected blood inquiry

The prime minister said officials dealt with the inquiries.

Ms Richards asked: “Over three years and still no concrete compensation framework insights and no information about what it might look like. Is that good enough?”

The audience groaned as Mr Sunak answered: “Now, having not been at the time responsible for initiating this inquiry in 2018, 2017 when it was announced and determining its terms of reference, it’s hard for me to second guess the process that was envisaged at the time or what I would have done differently.”

There was also a round of laughter after he said “extensive” work across government had been undertaken so it can act as quickly as possible, adding “that work continues at pace”.

More laughter and groans came when the prime minister failed to say if the government has actions ready to go upon the conclusion of the inquiry after being asked several times.

Campaigners: ‘Our hearts are heavy’

The Infected Blood Inquiry was established in 2017 to examine how thousands of patients in the UK developed HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products.

About 2,900 people have since died.

Many had the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia and were given injections of the US product Factor VIII.

Read more:
Around 380 children infected with HIV through blood products in UK

Sir Brian has said an interim compensation scheme should be widened so more people – including orphaned children and parents who lost children – can be compensated.

He said in April he was taking the unusual step of making the recommendation ahead of the publication of the full report into the scandal so that victims would not face any more delays.

Following the PM’s evidence session, campaign group Factor 8 said: “Regrettably, the prime minister offered neither new information nor commitments to the victims and bereaved families of the Infected Blood Scandal.

“Despite our impassioned plea in the letter delivered to him on Monday, urging swift action in line with the inquiry’s recommendations, he did not take this golden opportunity to advance the cause of justice for victims and their families. Our hearts are heavy.”

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Thiel-backed Erebor wins US approval as Silicon Valley Bank rival emerges

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Thiel-backed Erebor wins US approval as Silicon Valley Bank rival emerges

Thiel-backed Erebor wins US approval as Silicon Valley Bank rival emerges

Erebor’s green light from US regulators is among the most significant bank charter approvals tied to digital assets since the 2023 regional banking crisis.

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China Merchants Bank tokenizes $3.8B fund on BNB Chain in Hong Kong

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China Merchants Bank tokenizes .8B fund on BNB Chain in Hong Kong

China Merchants Bank tokenizes .8B fund on BNB Chain in Hong Kong

CMBI’s tokenization initiative with BNB Chain builds on its previous work with Singapore-based DigiFT, which tokenized its fund on Solana in August.

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Chancellor admits tax rises and spending cuts considered for budget

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Chancellor admits tax rises and spending cuts considered for budget

Rachel Reeves has told Sky News she is looking at both tax rises and spending cuts in the budget, in her first interview since being briefed on the scale of the fiscal black hole she faces.

“Of course, we’re looking at tax and spending as well,” the chancellor said when asked how she would deal with the country’s economic challenges in her 26 November statement.

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Ms Reeves was shown the first draft of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) report, revealing the size of the black hole she must fill next month, on Friday 3 October.

She has never previously publicly confirmed tax rises are on the cards in the budget, going out of her way to avoid mentioning tax in interviews two weeks ago.

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Chancellor pledges not to raise VAT

Cabinet ministers had previously indicated they did not expect future spending cuts would be used to ensure the chancellor met her fiscal rules.

Ms Reeves also responded to questions about whether the economy was in a “doom loop” of annual tax rises to fill annual black holes. She appeared to concede she is trapped in such a loop.

Asked if she could promise she won’t allow the economy to get stuck in a doom loop cycle, Ms Reeves replied: “Nobody wants that cycle to end more than I do.”

She said that is why she is trying to grow the economy, and only when pushed a third time did she suggest she “would not use those (doom loop) words” because the UK had the strongest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year.

What’s facing Reeves?

Ms Reeves is expected to have to find up to £30bn at the budget to balance the books, after a U-turn on winter fuel and welfare reforms and a big productivity downgrade by the OBR, which means Britain is expected to earn less in future than previously predicted.

Yesterday, the IMF upgraded UK growth projections by 0.1 percentage points to 1.3% of GDP this year – but also trimmed its forecast by 0.1% next year, also putting it at 1.3%.

The UK growth prospects are 0.4 percentage points worse off than the IMF’s projects last autumn. The 1.3% GDP growth would be the second-fastest in the G7, behind the US.

Last night, the chancellor arrived in Washington for the annual IMF and World Bank conference.

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The big issues facing the UK economy

‘I won’t duck challenges’

In her Sky News interview, Ms Reeves said multiple challenges meant there was a fresh need to balance the books.

“I was really clear during the general election campaign – and we discussed this many times – that I would always make sure the numbers add up,” she said.

“Challenges are being thrown our way – whether that is the geopolitical uncertainties, the conflicts around the world, the increased tariffs and barriers to trade. And now this (OBR) review is looking at how productive our economy has been in the past and then projecting that forward.”

She was clear that relaxing the fiscal rules (the main one being that from 2029-30, the government’s day-to-day spending needs to rely on taxation alone, not borrowing) was not an option, making tax rises all but inevitable.

“I won’t duck those challenges,” she said.

“Of course, we’re looking at tax and spending as well, but the numbers will always add up with me as chancellor because we saw just three years ago what happens when a government, where the Conservatives, lost control of the public finances: inflation and interest rates went through the roof.”

Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

Blame it on the B word?

Ms Reeves also lay responsibility for the scale of the black hole she’s facing at Brexit, along with austerity and the mini-budget.

This could risk a confrontation with the party’s own voters – one in five (19%) Leave voters backed Labour at the last election, playing a big role in assuring the party’s landslide victory.

The chancellor said: “Austerity, Brexit, and the ongoing impact of Liz Truss’s mini-budget, all of those things have weighed heavily on the UK economy.

“Already, people thought that the UK economy would be 4% smaller because of Brexit.

“Now, of course, we are undoing some of that damage by the deal that we did with the EU earlier this year on food and farming, goods moving between us and the continent, on energy and electricity trading, on an ambitious youth mobility scheme, but there is no doubting that the impact of Brexit is severe and long-lasting.”

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