Blood-Gate

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The British prime minister apologized after revelations emerged that the UK government covered up a scandal in which the state-run National Health Service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of people to deadly diseases including HIV through contaminated blood for decades, Al Jazeera reported this week.

Launched in 2017, the Infected Blood Inquiry released a report this week detailing a “catalogue of failures” by the UK’s Britain’s public health service: The findings showed more than 30,000 people were infected with viruses, such as HIV and Hepatitis C, after receiving contaminated blood and blood products in the UK from the 1970s to the early 1990s.

Many of the victims included patients needing blood transfusions for accidents, surgeries and those suffering blood disorders.

The 2,527-page-long document estimated that around 3,000 people died and many others were left with lifelong illnesses because of the health service’s actions, described as the NHS’s worst scandal since its creation in 1948.

The investigation discovered that authorities also attempted to cover up the scandal, such as destroying medical documents in 1993.

Following the report’s release, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described it as “a day of shame for the British state” and promised full compensation to those affected.

On Tuesday, the British government unveiled a $12.7 billion compensation package, according to the BBC.