The Penrose Inquiry was the

public inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...

into

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

infections from

NHS Scotland NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, ...

treatment with blood and blood products such as

factor VIII Factor VIII (FVIII) is an essential blood-clotting protein, also known as anti-hemophilic factor (AHF). In humans, factor VIII is encoded by the ''F8'' gene. Defects in this gene result in hemophilia A, a recessive X-linked coagulation disorder. ...

, often used by people with

haemophilia Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising, ...

. The event is often called the Tainted Blood Scandal or Contaminated Blood Scandal. It was not in the terms of reference of the inquiry to examine events in England, a statutory public inquiry has never been held in England. The Penrose Inquiry was set up by Scottish Government under the

Inquiries Act 2005 The Inquiries Act 2005 (c 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. According to the explanatory notes, published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Act "is intended to provide a comprehensive statutory framework for ...

and cost £12,123,754. It was announced by

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

on 23 April 2008. The Rt Hon Lord Penrose was the chairman of the inquiry. Andrea Summers was the Solicitor for the Inquiry and following this Inquiry was appointed to the

Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was established in October 2015 to inquire into cases of abuse of children in care in Scotland. It was to report and make recommendations within four years by 2019. But this deadline was later changed to "as soon ...

. The Inquiry took six years and the victims branded it a "total whitewash".

Publication

Lord Penrose did not attend the launch of the final report which was held on 25 March 2015 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He was reported to have been too ill to attend.

Criticism

The final report of the Penrose Inquiry was widely branded a

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

after it made only one recommendation, that steps should be taken to offer blood tests to anyone in Scotland who had a blood transfusion before 1991 and who has not already been tested for hepatitis C. The Inquiry did not apportion blame. Andrea Summers, Solicitor to the Inquiry, attended a press conference to deliver the report and members of audience shouted 'whitewash' and 'cover up' as the audience walked out. Professor John Cash who was a former director of the

Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is the national blood, blood product and tissue provider. It makes up a Strategic Business Unit of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). History The first dedicated transfusion service ...

said the executives responsible were able to avoid giving evidence. "Did Lord Penrose get to speak to the people with the real answers? No, he didn't," "He tried but through no fault of his own he couldn't get to the truth. He ran into serious problems because the Inquiries Act meant there was a whole area he could not address". Five deaths were examined as outlined in the inquiry's terms of reference, these were, Reverend David Black, Mrs Eileen O'Hara, Alexander Black Laing, Neil Mullen and Victor Tamburrini. Out of these 5 cases, only 1 of the victims was a Haemophiliac. The 1 haemophilia case was a Hepatitis C infection that occurred in the 1960s, before Factor concentrates were in use, meaning that the case did not relate to the relevant period which is regarded at the mid-1970s–1980s. None of these examined cases involved HIV infection.

Aftermath

Following the publication of the Penrose Inquiry,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

became the first British Prime Minister to offer a formal apology for the scandal. No

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

were paid during or following the inquiry, indeed, compensation was not mentioned within the terms of reference of the Penrose Inquiry. Damages have, however, been paid in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. On 17 August 2022, the Government announced that victims of the infected blood scandal across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will each receive an interim compensation payment of £100,000.

References

{{Reflist Public inquiries in Scotland NHS Scotland Hepatitis C 2008 establishments in Scotland 2015 disestablishments in Scotland Medical scandals in the United Kingdom HIV/AIDS in the United Kingdom Health disasters in the United Kingdom Contaminated haemophilia blood products

Publication

Criticism

Aftermath

See also

References