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After decades of denial, gaslighting and a chilling cover-up of the plight that befell thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal, finally an apology that sought to begin to make amends on this “day of shame” for the British state.

“I want to speak directly to victims and their families,” said Rishi Sunak. “I want to make a whole-hearted and unequivocal apology for this terrible injustice.

“I am truly sorry.”

It was an apology on behalf of every government stretching back to the 1970s.

Politics live: Thatcher’s health secretary ‘disparaging’ to victims

He also made “two solemn promises” at the dispatch box – comprehensive compensation will be paid and the report will be acted on.

“We must fundamentally rebalance the system so we finally address this pattern so familiar from other inquiries like Hillsborough, where innocent victims have to fight for decades just to be believed,” said the prime minister.

This was the absolute right response. The infected bloods scandal is one of the most horrifying failures of the state to its citizens as – to quote inquiry chairman Sir Brian Langstaff – people were “failed, not once but repeatedly, by their doctors, by the bodies [the NHS and others] responsible for the safety of their treatment, and by their governments”.

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Sunak apologises over infected blood scandal

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There has been untold suffering caused by the very people and institutions that are meant to treat you. That in itself is unconscionable, that it was then covered up in a “subtle, pervasive and chilling way” by the NHS and government – two institutions that should be in the service of citizens – is devastating.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, looking up to address families in the Commons’ gallery, spoke to this betrayal as he told them: “Politics itself has failed you.

“That failure applies to all parties, including my own. There is only one word. Sorry.”

Read more:
Who is criticised in blood inquiry report?
100 faces of the infected blood scandal

This was, for once, a very unpolitical day. All sides aligned, the apology fulsome and heartfelt, and agreement that whoever wins the next general election, compensation will be paid.

Echoing the prime minister, Sir Keir said: “Lessons must be learnt to make sure nothing like this happens again. We must restore the sense that this is a country that can rectify injustice, particularly when carried out by institutions of the state.”

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Starmer: ‘There was systemic failure’

This is a scandal, an injustice, a cover-up that spanned decades, affected 30,000 victims and wreaked devastation on their lives and families.

Monday was the beginning of the end of a fight for justice that has been long fought and hard won. Politicians now must pay the compensation and bring in the reforms.

This scandal was one in which trust between citizens and the state wasn’t just badly broken, it was destroyed.

The report, apology and promise of reparations is perhaps the beginning of trying to both right the wrongs endured by the blood scandal victims, and to begin to address the crisis of trust in government from an electorate that seems to have lost faith in the political class.

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Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

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Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.

Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.

However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.

“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:

“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Source: Raoul Pal

“Also, the US is trying to shut down China tariff arbitrage using other channels such as Mexico or Vietnam,” Pal said.

Related: Bitcoin price can hit $250K in 2025 if Fed shifts to QE: Arthur Hayes

China retaliates with new tariffs

Considering China’s latest retaliatory measures, a resolution remains unlikely in the short term.

In response to US tariffs, China imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports effective April 10, media outlet Xinhua News reported on April 4. China’s foreign ministry also vowed to “fight till the end” against Trump’s tariffs, which it called “bullying” by the world’s largest economy.

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

China overtakes the US in global trade. Source: Econovis

China overtook the US in 2012 to become the world’s largest trading nation by the total value of exports and imports, surpassing $4 trillion in goods trade that year, according to The Guardian.

Crypto markets watch trade outcome closely

As the trade dispute continues to evolve, analysts say a potential agreement between the two global superpowers could serve as a key catalyst for recovery in digital asset markets.

Crypto markets have a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.

Related: Crypto market bottom likely by June despite tariff fears: Finance Redefined

Investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin will depend on the global tariff responses from other countries, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

“We have reached somewhat of a local bottom in regard to tariffs and the impact on prices,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:

“Trump came out guns blazing, and we’ve mostly seen the worst from the US side, so we’ll see if other countries are willing to drop some of the tariffs because it’s very likely the US will do the same.”

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29

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Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

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Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

A Nigerian court has reportedly delayed the country’s tax evasion case against Binance until April 30 to give time for Nigeria’s tax authority to respond to a request from the crypto exchange.

Reuters reported on April 7 that a lawyer for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, asked a court the same day to invalidate an order allowing for court documents to be served to the company via email.

Binance doesn’t have an office in Nigeria and Ikwuazom claimed the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) didn’t get court permission to serve court documents to Binance outside the country.

“On the whole the order for the substituted service as granted by the court on February 11, 2025 on Binance who is … registered under the laws of Cayman Islands and resident in Cayman Islands is improper and should be set aside,” he said.

FIRS sued Binance in February, claiming the exchange owed $2 billion in back taxes and should be made to pay $79.5 billion for damages to the local economy as its its operations allegedly destabilized the country’s currency, the naira, which Binance denies.

It also reportedly alleged that Binance is liable to pay corporate income tax in Nigeria, as it has a “significant economic presence” there, with FIRS requesting a court order for the exchange to pay income taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% annual penalty on unpaid amounts along with a nearly a 27% interest rate on the unpaid taxes.

Nigeria’s legal history with Binance

In February 2024, Nigeria arrested and detained Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla on tax fraud and money laundering charges. The country dropped the tax charges against both in June and the remaining charge against Gambaryan in October.

Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

Tigran Gambaryan (right) was seen in a September video struggling to walk into a courtroom in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Source: X

Anjarwalla managed to slip his guards and escape Nigerian custody to Kenya in March last year and is apparently still at large.

Related: Binance exec shares details about release from Nigerian detention 

Gambaryan, a US citizen, returned home in October after reports suggested his health had deteriorated during his detainment with reported cases of pneumonia, malaria and a herniated spinal disc that may need surgery.

Binance stopped its naira currency deposits and withdrawals in March 2024, effectively leaving the Nigerian market.

Magazine: Trash collectors in Africa earn crypto to support families with ReFi 

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Sam and Starmer – what did PM actually mean?

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Sam and Starmer – what did PM actually mean?

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

It’s the final episode before recess so Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy wonder, given the turbulent times, who’ll be the first to call for Parliament to be recalled?

And talking of the Lib Dems, there’s some new polling which might put a spring into the step of Ed Davey – is his party’s position on Trump and trade doing them some favours?

Of course, there’s plenty of time to talk about the onslaught of US tariffs and implications for the UK – watch out for if the PM is asked about fiscal headroom when he appears before the Liaison Committee of senior MPs later.

Sam and Anne also ponder the PM’s response to Sam at a Q&A yesterday.

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