Outrage over 'ridiculous' compensation for 'unethical research' victims, including boys infected with HIV and hepatitis

Proposed compensation for victims of "unethical testing" at a college, leaving them with HIV and hepatitis, has been branded "ridiculous" by a charity.

Between the 1970s and early 1990s more than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis after being given contaminated blood and blood products in what was dubbed the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.

More than £2bn has now been paid in compensation to victims of the infected blood scandal.

However, a charity has raised "profound concerns" about an element of the payouts for people who were victims of "unethical research".

Pupils at the Lord Mayor's Treloar's College in Hampshire, who were undergoing haemophilia treatment, were also experimented on without their knowledge by NHS clinicians, who knew the dangers it posed.

The Infected Blood Public Inquiry's report, published in May 2024, found that boys with the disorder who attended the school were treated as "objects for research" and were given "multiple, riskier" treatments.

They have been offered a one-off £15,000 payment on top of ongoing support, with a £10,000 award available for others in similar, less notorious cases.

Changes to the payment are currently under public consultation.

Gary Webster was one of 122 children with haemophilia who attended the Lord Mayor's Treloar's College in Hampshire between the 1970s and early 1980s.

He was infected with HIV and hepatitis C. Of those who attended the college with the condition, he said that more than 80 are now dead.

In response to the compensation offer, he said the sum is "way off the mark," and added: "How can you offer £25,000 to someone who's been experimented and researched on, and most of the time killed?

"It's just ridiculous. It has to be a lot more than what they are offering."

Infected blood scandal: The Treloar's School pupils who 'lost everything'

Mr Webster also told the PA news agency that "we were forced, basically to have injections every day".

"At the time, we didn't know," he added. "We were eight, nine, 10, years old - and we just thought the doctors, who were our friends, who used to come and play sports with us in the evening, we thought they were doing good for us.

"Our parents had no knowledge of anything."

Charity raises 'profound concerns' to minister

The Hepatitis C Trust has also written to Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds to "express our profound concerns regarding the proposed compensation" for the victims - saying the sums are "wholly inadequate".

"We are very concerned that the current proposals fall far short of delivering justice and risk sending a dangerous message about the value of human life and the integrity of public institutions in the UK," the charity said in a letter.

"You are more than aware of the immense suffering of the victims of what has been termed 'unethical research' - people, most of whom were children, who were deliberately given blood products known to be contaminated with HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

"This was not an accident; it was a conscious decision by medical professionals."

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Signatories, including the charity, and other members of the infected blood community, called for the award to be "fully and transparently reviewed".

The letter also raised concerns over delays to a potential criminal investigation into the scandal, referring to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), saying it instigated a review after the inquiry published its report.

In December, the police council said that the review is "ongoing".

"(The NPCC) give no timeline for completion," the letter added. "This delay compounds the injustice and erodes public trust."

When approached for comment, Treloar's College pointed Sky News to a previous statement in May 2025.

"We would like to reiterate the call we made at that time to implement compensation plans without further delay," it said at the time.

It added: "The Inquiry's report laid bare the full extent of this horrifying national scandal. We are deeply saddened that some of our former pupils were so tragically infected and their families affected, and we share our former students' frustration with the time it is taking for compensation to be paid."

A government spokesperson said: "The suffering endured by all those subjected to unethical medical research is profound, and we remain committed to ensuring that justice is not only delivered but reflected in the way compensation is treated.

"This is why uplifts to the Autonomy awards will be made available through the supplementary route to recognise the suffering of victims subjected to unethical research practices.

"This award is just one part of the overall compensation package available.

"We encourage the community to respond to the government's consultation before January 22, which seeks respondents' feedback on different ways of designing and calculating the award to reflect unethical research practices."

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