Britain slammed in inquiry for infecting thousands with tainted blood and covering up the scandal

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — An inquiry has found that British authorities and the public health service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products and hid the truth about the disaster for decades. An estimated 3,000 people are believed to have died and in total 30,000 were infected after receiving blood or blood products tainted with HIV or hepatitis in the 1970s to the early 1990s. The scandal is seen as the deadliest disaster in the history of Britain’s state-run National Health Service. Former judge Brian Langstaff, who chaired the inquiry, said on Monday that the disaster was “not an accident,” and found that deliberate attempts were made to conceal it.