'A day of shame for the British state'

Families outside Central Hall in Westminster, London, after the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry reportImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Families attended the infected blood inquiry report's release on Monday

  • Published

Rishi Sunak's statement that Monday was "a day of shame for Britain" - because of the damning report about the infected blood scandal - makes headlines on most of the front pages.

"Make the guilty face justice", external demands the Daily Mirror under pictures of some of the victims. In an editorial, the paper urges both Mr Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to jointly vow to throw the full force of the state behind prosecuting, external those who, it says, "ruined lives, condemned people to early graves, inflicted misery on families and tried to cover up their tracks". The Sun agrees. It says the guilty must be punished, external for "their lethal negligence and callous deceit".

The Daily Mail says there are fears that no one will face criminal justice over the scandal. The paper's editorial says this is scarcely the first time the NHS has failed its patients, external and then closed ranks. It describes the health service as "a secretive opaque organisation which instinctively acts to silence whistleblowers rather than addressing their concerns". The call by Andy Burnham, former Labour health secretary and mayor of Greater Manchester, for corporate manslaughter charges to be brought against Whitehall departments, external is highlighted by the Times. The Crown Prosecution Service is quoted as saying it would have to wait for police to recommend charges, before it could take any action.

The Daily Telegraph says one of the lessons from the scandal for the government is that - with both the Post Office and the infected blood scandals - the state is too slow to make amends, external for wrongs identified a long time ago. The paper says it should be a matter of grave concern that there is still no quick mechanism for addressing institutional failures of these kinds. The Daily Express says civil servants should sign an oath, external promising to act in the best interests of the people they serve; that, the paper says, is their responsibility to the nation.

Away from the contaminated blood scandal, a number of papers analyse the request by the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and defence minister, and three leaders of Hamas. The Financial Times says legal experts have warned that arms sales by some European countries to Israel could be affected, external if pre-trial judges approve the warrants. In an editorial, the Mirror says the prosecutor's move reflects a widespread view that both sides have committed war crimes, external. It says the Hamas pogrom against the Israelis on 7 October and Israel's subsequent killing of Palestinians in Gaza are both abhorrent slaughters for which the accused deserve to be tried.

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

An ICC prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu

But the Telegraph says the request for arrest warrants makes a mockery of both the court and the laws it claims to uphold, because by targeting both sides the prosecutor has bolstered supposed moral equivalence where none exists, external. The paper says Israel's soldiers have gone to extraordinary lengths to minimise non-combatant casualties, often at great risk to their own lives.

The Guardian reports that greater spotted eagles - whose usual migratory routes cross Ukraine - have shifted their flight paths to avoid areas affected by war, external. Scientists say GPS data has revealed that they have not only made large detours, but also curtailed or avoided making stops to rest and feed.

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