CONTAMINATED BLOOD INQUIRY

That this House welcomes the Prime Minister's announcement of an inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal; thanks the Rt. Rev James Jones, former Chair of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, for his voluntary help; supports the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood's statement to the Prime Minister about the inquiry on 3 October 2017; and in line with that statement, resolves that the Department of Health is implicated in the disaster, and thus cannot sponsor the inquiry, fund it in any way or oversee the consultation; notes that a statutory inquiry must be established under the Inquiries Act 2005; further notes that the inquiry must put families first, consulting those affected on the chair, panel and terms of reference ensuring they are supported by a public-facing, engaging and properly resourced inquiry secretariat; believes that the inquiry must be led by a panel in addition to a Chair, and the Chair need not necessarily be a judge, that people affected require assurance that the inquiry's conclusions are arrived at independently, without influence from implicated parties, that the inquiry's terms of reference must cover the aftermath of the scandal as well as the run-up to the scandal, including the ex gratia support scheme and allegations of a criminal cover-up; and resolves that the inquiry must not be inhibited by any likelihood of criminal or civil liability being inferred from facts it determines or recommendations it makes and that provided the above condition are satisfied, a Chair to the inquiry can be appointed in November 2017.