MPs from all parties passed an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill which may force the government to establish a compensation body within 3 months of the bill becoming law.
Last night marked a significant step forward towards the establishment of a full compensation scheme for people infected and affected by contaminated blood. A total of 246 MPs, spanning all political parties, voiced their support for amendments proposed by Dame Diana Johnson, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood.
The amendment, if agreed by the House of Lords, would require the government to establish a compensation scheme for victims of the infected blood scandal within three months of the Act being passed.
Despite the government imposing a three-line whip, compelling its members to toe the party line, 22 Conservative MPs defied the demand and voted in favour of the amendments. Additionally, a further 85 Conservatives abstained which contributed to a narrow victory with 246 votes for and 242 against.
At the conclusion of the debate, the Secretary for State for Justice Edward Argar reiterated the government’s acknowledgment of the moral case for compensation and expressed great sympathy for the amendment to ensure the legal framework was put in place. He indicated that the government would bring forward their own amendments when the bill reached the Lords. So, what was agreed last night is not set in stone. He also committed the government to announce their response to the Public Inquiry Report within 25 days of the report being published.
In response to last night’s historic outcome, Bill Wright, Co-Chair of Haemophilia Scotland, said:
“This has been a spectacular turn of events. Government must now act in response and begin by talking to us, which they have studiously avoided for months now despite promising to do so.
We anticipated that there could be sufficient MPs rebelling from the back benches to make it happen, but our relief is tinged with wariness about Ministers actions when the Bill, as it now stands, moves forward to the House of Lords. We now need clarity from the government on their intentions going forward.
Clearly, we are grateful to Sir Brian Langstaff and his Inquiry team for their work and for Dame Diana Johnson MP’s relentless campaigning to get this outcome.”
The victory last night is the first stage in securing Parliamentary support for justice to those infected and affected by the contaminated blood disaster. We still have a way to go as the Bill passes through the House of Lords before receiving Royal Assent and becoming law.
You can find details of the amendment passed, called New Clause 27 here.