UK patients affected by infected blood scandal to receive payouts

Up to 30,000 people became ill after receiving contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 80s. Photograph: NHS Blood and Transplant/PA

A compensation scheme for thousands of people affected by the infected blood scandal, described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS, will reportedly be announced within weeks.

Ministers will set up an arm’s-length body to administer the funds, which could run into hundreds of millions of pounds, and recognise culpability for the scandal for the first time, according to the Sunday Times.