A town councillor, believed to be only person affected by both the infected blood and the Post Office scandals, has said billions of pounds worth of compensation announced by the Chancellor in her budget ‘may not be enough’.
Former subpostmaster Dave Farry, who lost his dad to HIV after he was given a contaminated blood transfusion for anaemia, called on the Government to set out timescales on when payments will be made.
Rachel Reeves promised to set aside £11.8 billion to compensate those affected by the infected blood scandal and £1.8 billion to compensate victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
But Mr Farry, 31, from Ferryhill, said ‘capping’ the amount could mean that thousands of people affected may not receive all they are entitled to.
“There could be people who have not put a claim in yet or had it assessed so how can the Government say how much are going need?
“We know that solicitors are getting three times the amount that people who had the damage done to them are getting.
“It is encouraging to have an announcement but how do we know it will be enough to go around?
“Before we were told everyone was going to be paid but it was not capped.”
Mr Farry said the now discredited computer accounting software cost him more than £1 million in lost earnings as well as valuable property and assets following the collapse of his business.
Mr Farry, from Ferryhill, worked for the Post Office for 14 years, but he said he has been advised he may only be able to claim for the two years he can provide documentary evidence for as he was in partnership with his ex-wife.
He was one of the original 555 campaigners who joined Sir Alan Bates’ crusade for justice that formed the basis of an award-winning ITV drama.
He said: “Saying and doing are two different things so all the Post Office payments were supposed to be made by March next year.
“I would like the Government to be making a commitment on that. The longer it goes on, the more stress, aggravation, and heartache it is causing.
“They are just dangling carrots but unless there is a timescale the money is meaningless.
“It has gone on far too long. Full and fair payments should be made available for all affected people and should be paid out.”
Mr Farry, who now works as a kitchen and bathroom designer for Homebase and sits on Ferryhill Town Council, is also claiming compensation following conclusion of the infected blood inquiry.
His father, John, a previously healthy coil winder at Smart and Brown in Spennymoor, was diagnosed with HIV, the newly discovered deadly disease in 1984 after receiving Factor VIII blood supplement treatment for haemophilia on the NHS.
As part of protracted legal discussions during the judicial inquiry it has been established that Mr Farry will be entitled to payout as part of his father’s estate and personal compensation as someone who was affected by the scandal.
But, as with the Post Office scandal, Mr Farry is concerned the sums of money are being limited.
He said: “I again welcome the announcement.
“They have said affected people can put in claim in during 2025 but they have not given us a date.
“The last Government said it would be paid out but they did not put an mount on it.
“Now if this Government is saying that this amount is the money is set aside, who is to say it is going to be enough?
“It may well not be.”
Public inquiries into both scandals have recommended ‘swift and generous’ compensation packages for those who have suffered injustices, but Ms Reeves claimed the previous Conservative government had “failed to budget” for the costs of this.
“That includes funding for vital compensation schemes for victims of two terrible injustices: the infected blood scandal and the Post Office Horizon scandal.
“The Leader of the Opposition (Rishi Sunak) rightly made an unequivocal apology for the injustice of the infected blood scandal on behalf of the British state, but he did not budget for the costs of compensation.
“Today, for the very first time, we will provide specific funding to compensate those infected and those affected, in full, with £11.8 billion in this Budget.
“I am also today setting aside £1.8 billion to compensate victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal, redress that is long overdue for the pain and injustice that they have suffered.”
Some 30,000 NHS patients were given blood products contaminated with HIV or hepatitis C between the 1970s and the early 1990s.
The scandal has not only led to thousands of deaths, but long-term impacts on the lives of those affected and their families.
In the Post Office-Horizon scandal, thousands of subpostmasters were accused of fraud due to faulty accounting software.
Some were jailed or forced to pay back thousands of pounds while others were ostracised by their communities for crimes they did not commit.
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Jason Evans, director of Factor 8 – one of the leading infected blood campaigns – welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement and said while compensation costs may “seem high”, that is “because the scale of suffering, loss, and death due to the scandal is high”.
He said many impacted by the scandal believe the Government should “claw back” costs from companies who manufactured tainted blood products.
Mr Evans added: “Both public authorities and commercial organisations share responsibility for the infected blood scandal. Both knowingly allowed infected blood products to be in circulation for patient use.
“I would encourage the Government to carefully consider if the public interest is served by allowing companies, whose products kill people, to evade their share of responsibility.”
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