Dear Supporters,

We are now in a position to provide an important update on the legal work that you helped make possible concerning the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.

First and foremost, thank you. 🙏💙

Thanks to your generosity, Families of Deceased Infected Blood Victims UK was able to instruct Bindmans LLP and obtain specialist advice from Aidan O’Neill KC, who represented Affected and Infected Scottish Core Participants in the Infected Blood Inquiry until 2020.

Our purpose in commissioning this work was simple: after everything bereaved families had raised with Government, the Inquiry and those responsible for developing the Compensation Scheme, we wanted to establish independently whether our concerns could provide a viable basis for legal challenge.

⚖️ What did we ask our lawyers to consider?

Throughout our work on the Compensation Scheme, we have challenged numerous areas which we believe fail adequately to recognise deceased victims and their families.

These have included:

🔹 Recognition of those who died

🔹 Arbitrary dates and eligibility cut-offs

🔹 The Supplementary Route

🔹 Differences in the treatment of living and deceased infected victims

🔹 Care awards

🔹 CPI/indexation and the financial consequences of delay

🔹 The different treatment of bereaved family relationships

We did not want simply to assume that nothing more could be done.

We wanted these concerns properly tested — and your support enabled us to do exactly that.

⚖️ The treatment of bereaved families

One of the principal areas considered concerned the relationship-based awards within the Compensation Scheme — something we have previously described as a “hierarchy of grief.”

The Scheme provides particular recognition to bereaved partners and to parents whose infected child died while under the age of 18.

The legal work highlighted an important issue concerning the different approach to bereavement compensation under Scots law.

The approach within the Scheme appears more reflective of the law of England and Wales and does not take account of the broader “loss of society” claims available under Scots law.

Under Scots law, loss-of-society claims are available to a wider class of bereaved relatives and are not restricted solely to bereaved partners or parents who lose a minor child.

This distinction matters because the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme applies across the whole of the United Kingdom — including treatment provided in Scotland, people who died in Scotland and affected families based in Scotland.

The Infected Blood Inquiry itself raised concerns in its July 2025 Additional Report on Compensation about the extent to which expertise in the approaches taken in Scotland and Northern Ireland had informed the development of the Scheme.

This therefore raised an important question about whether the different position under Scots law had been properly taken into consideration when developing a UK-wide compensation scheme.

🔒 Legal professional privilege

We appreciate that, having donated towards this work, you will understandably want to know as much as possible about the advice we received.

The complete advice from Aidan O’Neill KC is protected by legal professional privilege, and we have been specifically advised against publishing it in its entirety.

We therefore cannot publish the opinion itself or disclose all of the detailed legal analysis behind it.

We have instead sought to explain as openly as we responsibly can what was investigated, the issues that can appropriately be discussed publicly and the decision we have reached.

Maintaining that privilege also protects the interests of bereaved families should circumstances change in the future.

⚖️ What happens now?

Having obtained the specialist legal advice, the committee has considered the position very carefully.

There is an important difference between identifying a potential legal argument and deciding that pursuing litigation is the responsible course of action.

We had to consider the legal position as a whole, what could realistically be achieved through litigation, the very significant further costs involved and the financial risks associated with taking proceedings forward.

Having considered all of those factors collectively, the committee has reluctantly decided not to proceed with legal action.

This was not an easy decision.

However, our responsibility was never to pursue litigation at any cost.

Our responsibility was to investigate the position properly, obtain specialist independent legal advice and then make a responsible decision about whether committing considerably more money to litigation could be justified.

Having completed that process, we do not believe proceeding with litigation is the responsible course for us to take.

That does not mean that we believe the Compensation Scheme is fair.

It does not mean that the inequalities we have identified have disappeared.

And it certainly does not mean that the treatment of bereaved families should no longer be challenged.

💷 Your donations – where did the money go?

Because you contributed directly to this work, we want to be completely transparent about the funds raised.

Together, CrowdJustice supporters raised:

🎯 £22,006

It is important to explain that Families of Deceased Infected Blood Victims UK and its committee did not receive or have access to the money raised through CrowdJustice.

The funds were paid directly to Bindmans LLP towards the legal costs incurred on our behalf.

All £22,006 raised has been used towards the legal work for which this campaign was established.

There is therefore no remaining balance of CrowdJustice funds held by the committee to distribute or return.

Indeed, the final legal costs exceeded the amount available through CrowdJustice by £1,571.53.

We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Infected Blood Forum (SIBF), which has kindly agreed to contribute towards this outstanding amount.

The £1,571.53 shortfall is being shared between SIBF, Ian Dixon, Alison Crowley and Richard Newton, rather than asking supporters for any further contributions.

We would particularly like to thank Tommy Leggate and the SIBF Trustees for their generosity in helping us bring this work to a close. 💙

We recognise that £22,006 is a considerable amount of money.

Some of you donated a few pounds. Others donated considerably more. Some of you donated repeatedly as the legal work progressed.

We have never taken that generosity — or the responsibility that came with it — for granted.

Your donations enabled us to instruct specialist solicitors, obtain King’s Counsel advice and properly investigate whether the concerns raised by bereaved families could provide a viable route to legal challenge.

The money you donated was used for the purpose for which you entrusted it to us.

💙 What did your support achieve?

Although the decision not to proceed with litigation may understandably be disappointing, the work you funded was not wasted.

Without your support, bereaved families could have been left indefinitely wondering whether a legal avenue existed and whether we should have pursued it.

Instead, you enabled us to put those questions before specialist public-law lawyers and King’s Counsel and have them properly examined.

The work also brought further focus to the important difference between the treatment of bereaved relatives within the Compensation Scheme and the broader approach recognised under Scots law.

The legal work has therefore given us an important basis upon which this issue can continue to be raised with Government as part of the wider political case for reconsidering the scope of compensation available to bereaved families.

📢 Our decision not to litigate does not mean accepting the Scheme as it stands.

The courts represented one potential avenue for seeking change.

Because of you, we were able to explore that avenue properly.

The arguments about fairness, equality and recognition can continue to be made to Government, Ministers and Parliament.

💙 We left no stone unturned

From the beginning, we promised that we would explore every reasonable avenue available to us.

With your help, we have scrutinised and challenged:

⚫ Death recognition

📅 Arbitrary dates and cut-offs

⚖️ The Supplementary Route

💙 Living versus deceased infected payments

🤝 Care awards

📈 CPI, indexation and the financial consequences of delay

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Recognition and treatment of bereaved families

Not every argument ultimately provides a route through the courts.

But that does not make the underlying concerns any less important to the families affected by them.

🙏 Finally – thank you

We want to offer our sincere thanks to every single person who donated to or shared our CrowdJustice campaign.

Every donation mattered.

Every share mattered.

And every person who placed their trust in us enabled bereaved families to ask questions that otherwise may never have been properly tested.

We asked the questions.

We obtained specialist legal advice.

We tested the legal position.

And we took that process as far as we responsibly believed we could.

The outcome may not be the one that many of us had hoped for, but it was important that these questions were asked and properly examined.

Most importantly, we can now say that when it came to exploring whether bereaved families had another avenue through the law, we left no stone unturned.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do that, and for the trust and generosity you showed us throughout. 💙🙏

With sincere thanks,

Richard Newton
Chair
Families of Deceased Infected Blood Victims UK

Dear Supporter,

Firstly, thank you once again for your incredible support. Every donation, every share and every message of encouragement helps us continue this important work on behalf of bereaved families.

A number of people have asked who is working behind the scenes, so I thought it would be nice to introduce the committee that has volunteered its time to help guide this work.

Every member of our committee gives their time freely alongside work, family life and, for many, their own personal experiences of the Infected Blood Scandal. Together, we bring a wide range of professional expertise and lived experience.

Our committee includes:

⚖️ Alison Crowley – Co-Chair, qualified solicitor and daughter of a deceased infected victim, bringing both legal expertise and lived experience.

🏦 Ian Dixon – Co-Chair and Chartered Accountant, providing financial oversight and strategic guidance.

📊 Sam Richards – Chartered Financial Planner with extensive knowledge of the Compensation Scheme and its financial implications.

🏴 Tommy Leggate – Manager of the Scottish Infected Blood Forum, a highly respected advocate who helped lead the Scottish consultation on the proposed Compensation Scheme.

🌹 Lorna Rusing – Widow and long-standing advocate, bringing the perspective of bereaved partners together with a reputation for fairness and integrity.

📚 Owen McLaughlin – An exceptional researcher whose detailed knowledge of the Compensation Scheme has been invaluable throughout this process.

🤝 Claire Dixon – Bringing compassion, thoughtful challenge and an unwavering commitment to ensuring bereaved families remain at the heart of our work.

💙 Mary-Ann – Despite facing her own health challenges, Mary-Ann continues to dedicate her time and experience to supporting bereaved families and strengthening our committee.

Like so many of our members, we each have our own reasons for volunteering. Although we bring different skills and experiences, we all share one common goal: to do what we genuinely believe is in the best interests of bereaved families.

As many of you know, the legal advice we have received remains protected by legal privilege, and whilst we cannot discuss its substance, I can assure you that the committee has carefully considered where we are. We remain united in our commitment to completing this important stage of the legal process.

We are incredibly grateful for the trust you have placed in us. We never take that trust—or your generosity—for granted.

With sincere thanks,

Richard Newton
Chair
Families of Deceased Infected Blood Victims UK

Dear Supporter,

I just wanted to send a very quick follow-up to my previous update.

Several people kindly pointed out that I forgot to include the CrowdJustice campaign link—so my apologies for that!

Firstly, thank you once again for your incredible support. Since my last update, we’ve now reached £18,258. Every donation and every share is bringing us closer to our revised target, and we are enormously grateful.

As I mentioned previously, we are working to important timescales, so reaching our target as soon as possible will allow us to complete this initial stage of the legal process without unnecessary delay.

As many of you will appreciate, I still can’t comment on the substance of the legal advice because it remains protected by legal privilege. However, I can assure you that the committee remains unanimous in believing it is important to complete this work in the best interests of bereaved families.

💙 If you are able to help, whether by donating or simply sharing the campaign, it would make a tremendous difference.

You can support the campaign here:

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/infected-blood-families-deserve-justice/

Thank you once again for your trust, generosity and continued support. We are incredibly close now, and every contribution helps us move one step closer to completing this important work.

With sincere thanks,

Richard Newton
Chair
Families of Deceased Infected Blood Victims UK

Dear Supporter,

I wanted to share some encouraging news with you.

Following further discussions with Bindmans LLP, we have successfully reviewed and renegotiated the estimated costs for the remaining legal work.

I’m pleased to let you know that the additional funding required has reduced significantly.

Instead of needing to raise a further £10,000, we now only need an additional £4,000 to complete this initial stage of the legal process.

We felt it was important to update you as soon as this was agreed. We know every donation is hard earned, and we have a responsibility to ensure every pound contributed is used wisely. By reviewing the anticipated work and challenging the projected costs, we have been able to reduce the amount we are asking supporters to contribute.

As many of you will appreciate, the legal advice itself remains protected by legal privilege, so we are unable to comment on its substance at this stage. However, we remain committed to completing this initial stage of the legal process properly and in the best interests of bereaved families.

💙 How you can help

If you are able to make a donation, no matter how small, we would be incredibly grateful.

If you’ve already donated, thank you. Your support has brought us to this point.

If you’re unable to donate again, you can still make a huge difference by sharing our CrowdJustice campaign with family, friends and anyone who believes bereaved families deserve fairness, equality and justice.

Support the campaign here:

[Insert CrowdJustice campaign link]

Thank you once again for your trust, generosity and continued support. We will continue to keep you updated as our work progresses.

With sincere thanks,

Richard Newton
Chair
Families of Deceased Infected Blood Victims UK