Ken Clarke served as health secretary at pivotal moments in the infected blood scandal, which saw 30,000 patients infected with HIV and hepatitis and more than 3,000 deaths to date.
The Tory grandee, who was a key figure in Margaret Thatcher’s government, was handed a peerage by Boris Johnson in 2020. Campaigners including the Haemophilia Society at the time called for the honour to be put on hold until the public inquiry had reported its findings.
Now, after the official inquiry concluded he had misled the public in an “indefensible” way, Lord Clarke is facing calls to be kicked out of the House of Lords.
He was condemned by inquiry chairman Sir Brian Langstaff for suggesting there was “no conclusive proof” that Aids could be spread through blood. Lord Clarke was also rebuked for being “combative” and not trying to help the inquiry.
Lord Clarke was also criticised for saying “campaigners attributed everything to me because I later became a well-known figure” and they were trying to “find some celebrity whose fault it was”.
The Independent looks at what Lord Clarke is accused of, and why campaigners want his peerage removed.
What Is Lord Clake accused of?
Sir Brian’s 2,527-page report paints a damning picture of Lord Clarke’s role in the scandal, detailing how he denied there was evidence for the transmission of Aids via blood products and refused extra funding to screen for Aids cases.
As far back as 1985, it sets out how the former health secretary decided against paying compensation for those infected with HIV because there “has never been a general State scheme to compensate those who suffer the unavoidable adverse effects which can unhappily arise from many medical procedures”.
The report criticises his characterisation of Aids as an “unavoidable adverse effect” given its high mortality rate and said it “set the tone for the government’s response for many years”.
It also found evidence by 1982 that infections were happening through blood products, meaning Lord Clarke’s claims “gave false assurances, lacked candour” and were misleading.
What do critics say?
Des Collins, a solicitor who represents 1,500 victims of the scandal, said: “The chair to the inquiry thinks he was wrong back in the day and I think yes, he [Lord Clarke] should have his peerage stripped. Take no prisoners. There are a lot who haven’t been singled out but he was one of them.”
And Clive Smith, chairman of the Haemophilia Society, who is a qualified barrister, said Lord Clarke’s engagement with the inquiry was “appalling”.
Asked if Lord Clarke should stay in position in the House of Lords, he told LBC: “We wrote to the Upper House when it was suggested that he was going to get a peerage, saying ‘Please don’t do that yet, wait until the Infected Blood Inquiry has reported’.
“Now we have the conclusions of the Infected Blood Inquiry report, I think our letter was well-timed and entirely accurate.
“The way in which he gave his evidence (to the inquiry) was appalling.”
Will he lose his peerage?
The removal of peerages is extremely rare because it requires an Act of Parliament, but Lord Clarke can voluntarily forfeit the title.
Asked whether Lord Clarke should be stripped of his peerage over criticism of him in the infected blood scandal report, minister Mel Stride said it was a matter for the forfeiture committee.
The work and pensions secretary said he “totally understands” calls for Lord Clarke’s peerage to be stripped, but said it is not a matter for the government.
Maria Armour, who contracted hepatitis C through a blood transfusion in 1981 but only found out in 2004, said he should “definitely” lose the peerage.
What did the infected blood inquiry find?
A 2,000-page report into the infected blood scandal accused the government and NHS of a calamity of failures that left 30,000 patients infected with HIV and hepatitis. More than 3,000 people have died due to infected blood, blood products and tissue, with the number continuing to rise.
It warned that most infections could and should have been avoided, revealing that the government knew by 1982 that whatever was causing AIDS might be transmissible by blood products, but continued to use them into the 1990s.
A total of 1,250 people with bleeding disorders were infected with HIV through, around 380 of whom were children, and up to 6,250 are estimated to have been infected with Hepatitis C.
At least, 26,800 patients who received blood transfusions are estimated to have been infected with Hepatitis C.
