"I have failed" - Lord David Owen to Blood Scandal victims

I have failed and I feel very miserable about it

As Theresa May considers an investigation, Former Minister of Health and Foreign Secretary, Lord David Owen proclaimed “I Have Failed” in a dramatic and heartfelt speech given on Thursday to campaigners and victims of the Tainted Blood Scandal which has already killed over 2,000 people in the UK with Haemophilia. The speech came following a film-screening of the documentary, Bad Blood: A Cautionary Tale at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

Link to full speech (Video)

Key points from Lord Owen's speech:

· Ministerial decision for self-sufficiency was dropped without consultation of Parliament and no civil servant had the authority to do this.

· “Mistakes have been made at every level”

· “At every single stage, the truth has been there and people have evaded it and that must carry a penalty”

· Lord Owen tells how all his ministerial documents were “scrapped”.

· “I have become convinced that there has been a cleaning-up of documents”

· “there was a decision to clean up all the files and stop some of the incriminating evidence”

· “I think it should become much more evident, the scale of the cover-up and the way that the truth has been avoided”

· “this whole area is a mess, it is still a mess, it has not been cleaned up and a younger generation than me will have to go on fighting”

· Shortly before concluding “I have failed and I feel very miserable about it”

· With emotions running high, campaigner Jason Evans replied to Lord Owen stating “Many people in our community hold you in very high regard for what you have done and we thank you very much for it, a lot”.

British prime minister Theresa May told Parliament earlier this month that she will "consider" an investigation into the scandal which saw thousands infected with Hepatitis C & HIV following a question from Labour MP for Hull North, Diana Johnson.

Lord Owen indicates that there was a cover-up of events in Britain due to the potential consequences. In France, Michel Garretta, former director of the National Blood Transfusion Centre was jailed for 4 years for his role in the scandal.

In Britain, no compensation has been paid to victims / families and no liability has been admitted.

Media Contact:

Jason Evans
Tainted Blood - Campaign Group
http://www.taintedblood.info/
jason@730media.co.uk
07949 333631