Sunak's Government Suffers First Parliamentary Defeat Over Infected Blood Compensation

MPs vote in favour of an amendment requiring the establishment of a compensatory body for victims within three months, marking a significant defeat for the government.

Rishi Sunak's government suffered its first parliamentary defeat as MPs voted to establish a compensatory body for victims of the infected blood scandal.
An amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill, proposed by Labour, was passed with a narrow majority of 246 to 242, with 22 Conservative MPs voting against their own government.
The amendment requires ministers to set up a body to administer full compensation within three months of the bill becoming law.
The infected blood scandal, which unfolded in the late 1970s and early 1980s, saw about 4,800 people with the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia given blood donated or sold by people infected with HIV and hepatitis C.
The government had previously stated there was a 'moral case for the payment of compensation', but wanted to wait for the outcome of the ongoing inquiry.