Andy Burnham has accused the Government of “drawing new dividing lines between people” over compensation for the infected blood scandal, as a national memorial service was held at St Paul’s Cathedral. The Greater Manchester mayor, who was confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election on Tuesday, said the compensation rules involved “divide and rule sort of tactics” and called on ministers to make “full amends to everybody”.
Mr Burnham’s criticism centres on a Cabinet Office announcement last month that bereaved parents whose infected child died before the age of 18 would receive a 50% uplifted injury award to “recognise the profound impact of this loss”. However, parents whose children were over 18 at the time of their death are excluded from the uplift. Speaking to The i Paper, Mr Burnham said: “I know that new injustices have crept in over the last two years, and the fight needs to be for ever. They [the Government] should just be making full amends to everybody, not drawing new dividing lines between people, between parents whose children died under 18 and those over.”
Mr Burnham, who said he was “gutted” not to attend the memorial service, also reiterated his commitment to the Hillsborough Law (Public Office (Accountability) Bill) “in its entirety”. The bill, currently at committee stage in the House of Commons, would legally compel public servants to act with transparency. Mr Burnham previously introduced a version of the bill as a private member’s bill in 2017.
Compensation Criteria and Exclusions
The 50% uplift in injury awards applies not only to bereaved parents of children who died under 18 but also to bereaved partners. Additionally, individuals infected as children will receive an extra 50% in their Autonomy Award. But the exclusion of parents whose children died over 18 has sparked accusations of unfairness. Mr Burnham argued that the policy creates a hierarchy of grief that is incompatible with the promise of full amends.
Further compensation changes announced by the Government include an additional £35,000 for former pupils of Lord Mayor Treloar College who were infected during unethical experimental trials, bringing their total to £60,000. Awards for those treated for bleeding disorders in childhood elsewhere will increase to £45,000, and for adults to £30,000. A new Exceptional Loss Award of £60,000 has been introduced for individuals whose infection prevented them from entering a highly paid career or disrupted their career progression.
The Haemophilia Society has expressed disappointment that the enduring impact of harsh hepatitis C treatments has not been fully recognised. However, a new supplementary route award for people living with hepatitis C will raise their yearly Financial Loss to £20,760 (or £17,794) and their Care Award to £5,460 for eligible years, calculated from 2017. A Level 2B award will compensate those who underwent interferon treatment with a £10,000 uplift to their Injury Award and two years of uplifted Financial Loss and one year of uplifted Care Award.
The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), established in August 2024, is administering the scheme. As of May 7, 2026, the IBCA reported that 3,232 people had been paid compensation, with combined payments totalling more than £2.1 billion. An earlier IBCA update from April 7 showed that 3,273 offers of compensation had been made, totalling over £2.6 billion, with 3,161 people accepting their offers. The IBCA is prioritising claims based on recommendations from the Infected Blood Inquiry, focusing on those nearing end of life, with advanced liver disease, or over 75.
Despite the progress, the Hepatitis C Trust and the Haemophilia Society have called on the Government to speed up payments, noting that some victims and their families are still waiting, with some dying before receiving any payout. Charities have also raised concerns about a “penalty for dying” within the scheme, where estates of those who died earlier may receive less than those who survive longer. The total allocated for compensation stands at £11.8 billion, with an estimated overall payout of £12.8 billion following an additional £1 billion commitment.
Memorial Service and Inquiry Findings
The memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday was attended by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, former prime minister Theresa May, Health Secretary James Murray, and the Duke of Gloucester. Symbolic empty chairs were placed in the congregation to represent those who died, and singer Michael Ball performed Empty Chairs At Empty Tables. Paper petals were dropped from the cathedral’s dome in memory of lives lost. Poems written by members of the infected blood community were also read.
The Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett, Dean of St Paul’s, said the service was intended to “publicly recognise and remember the devastation wrought on thousands of lives and the untimely deaths of loved ones”. He added: “This tragedy alone would be catastrophic enough. However, it has been exacerbated by the lack of public recognition and acknowledgment. For too long, the administration of life-changing and deadly viruses through contaminated blood and contaminated blood products has been hidden from public view. It has touched all corners of our United Kingdom and continues to take lives in the most cruel and harrowing ways.”
Paula Butterworth, whose partner John Louis Daly died aged 42 in September 2007 after being infected with hepatitis C at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, said those who lost their lives have been “put at the bottom of the queue”. Speaking outside the cathedral, the 52-year-old said: “He left a 10-year-old daughter who’s now nearly 30, and you just can’t explain the impact it’s had on our life.”
The service took place two years after the Infected Blood Inquiry, chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff, published its main report. The inquiry concluded that the scandal, in which more than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s, “could largely have been avoided” and that there was a “pervasive” cover-up. More than 3,000 people have died as a result, while survivors live with lifelong health implications.
Giving an address at the service, Sir Brian Langstaff said the scandal “was not an accident” and “what caused it was human failure set upon human failure”. He added: “Many knew instinctively that it could have been avoided. But most of those in authority would not accept there had been any such disaster, let alone inquire why it had happened. In remembering, we must not forget that what happened medically was compounded by intransigence, defensiveness and untruths peddled by many in authority for far too long. The horrifying scale of what happened is also why it is so important that as a nation we always remember, and that those who continue to suffer, continue to grieve, know that they are not alone.”