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Letters to the Commons and Lords

Letters to Parliament and the Department of Health

Over many years we have repeatedly written and mailshot  over 1000 MP's facts  related to UK Contaminated HCV Infections.  We even had one MP, who shall be nameless, write back pleading us to stop!  Perhaps the best summary of all the correspondence is the one featuring the excellent Lord Jenkin sadly now deceased.

As background Lord Jenkin attended our Commons Briefing in 2009 and as a former Secretary of State for Health at the height of the crises in the Eighties was the most profoundly moved of any politician I have encountered. I expected opposition or derision and was confronted by a wonderful man in his eighties talking to me after my lecture in tears, saying "Your numbers are compelling. It happened on my watch!".  Being me I said, "Can I have that in writing and can you sign off some searching questions to the current Ministers for Health?" Which he duly did.

So having got this excellent chap on board we proceeded to scrupulously medically reference, see all the little numbers hotlinked to the still online articles and written at the end of the letter, the key published medical data that pointed towards the fact the UK had had a "Industrial Scale" Contaminated Blood Outbreak like the rest of the prison blood harvesting developed world.

The reply we got back was the exact wall of silence and mad math of pretending that the level of infections in the Seventies and Eighties was identical to that in September 1991 by which time all Injectors and previously transfused were barred from donating! A Travesty.



So Ratrick and I were faced by the old 1991 its not happened prevalence con. I regrouped and re appealed to Glenys to meet me and realise the Department of Health are poorly advising her to be a mouthpiece for the cover up and tried even harder to medically reference the quite obvious facts about "Industrial Scale Contaminated Blood infections.

All this basically pointed out yet again, a reoccurring merry go round where the poor politician in a "Yes Minister" way only knows what the Department of Health was telling them. Poor Baroness Glenys Thornton did what all the other politicians ended up doing and cracking up on Patrick and myself and handed the matter over to the Department of Health itself.  Who in their wisdom got a nameless junior customer service person to trot out a few hopeful platitudes about their general liver planning.
At this point it occurred to me that unless we found several million to take the Department of Health to Court, they had no interest in saving any lives from contaminated blood HCV infections they had caused or were responsible for from overseas. Even a former Minister in tears of regret and a very caring Baroness Thornton were quite unable to even get them to read their own published facts about transfusions being 2% HCV infectious for decades. Below is the list of MP's contacted who all to some extent played the same ping pong of asking a question of a Department that is very used to applying spin to the answers they get.  The National Liver Strategy they promised above featured a Liver Tsar called Martin Lombard who spent a couple of years planning and then was fired without being able to see any plan in action at all.

Parliamentarians who have responded very positively to or attended the 6 Hepatitis Asks 3rd March 2009
Sandra Gidley** Co Chair Primary & Public Health, Aids, Cancer, Patient Safety, Penal Affairs, Heptology. Office has cared for nhs hcv.                                                   
Edward O Hara* Vice Chairman Haemophilia, Aging
Baroness Masham** Vice Chair Patient & Public Health, Vice Chair Safety, Headaches, Cancer, Prison Health, Vice Chair AIDS
Ann Darnborough** Green Party founder
Neil Gerrard* Hepatology, Migration, Equalities, Patient & Public Involvement , Haemophilia, AIDS, Pharma 
Earl Howe* Opposition Health Spokesman, Abuse investigations
Tony Lloyd* Civil liberties
Charlotte Atkins* Select committee Health
Dr Des Turner Chairman Medical KITS Technology, Patient Safety,
Lord Ramsbotham** Penal Affairs
Betty Williams Commercial Radio, Medical KITS Technology, Penal Affairs, Heamophilia, Cancer, Fibromyalgia
John Baron Patient & Public Involvement
David Borrow MP Chairman APPG AIDS
Dr Iddon* Vice Chairman Hepatology, Drug Misuse, Pakistan Aging Cancer Kelvin Hopkins Vice Chairman Alcohol, Workplace Violence, Hepatology, Sickle Cell, Pharma Industry, Education
Andrew Love Patient & Public Involvement, Hepatology
Stewart Jackson Chair Pakistan, Hepatolgy Dropped in 
Oliver Heald Patient Safety, Hepatology, Public Standards
Laura Moffat** Public Health & Primary Care (needlesticks), AIDS
Phil Willis MP* Chairman of the Innovation, Universities Select Committee, Medical research, Communications, Education
John Leech Medical KITSTechnology, Patient Safety,
Pater Luff Chair Select Committee Business, Family member died of HCV 
Eric Pickles* Sec of State for Communities & local govt***
Tim Yeo* Opposition health minister 2004***
Lord Archer written support for the Asks Recommendations
Lord Morris** A Dedicated Champion for Factor VIII               
Anne Milton Shadow Minister for Health, chair Health Let me know if she can be of assistance.
Lord Owen** has written evidence
Lord Jenkins** has written evidence
Boris Johnson** Sister cares for transfusion hcv.
Sylvia Heal JP Deputy Speaker
Bill Etherington*
MP’s who have responded via mail & phone to the 6 Asks
Lord Kinden Davies* phoned, discussing prison safety testing
Peter Bottomley Patient Public Involvement Drooped In 
Andrew Dismore* Occupational Safety
Mr Brady MP* Cancer
Austin Mitchell
Andrew Lansley MP* Health
Ann McKechin
Jeremy Hunt MP *                   
Anne Begg Primary Care Scottish facts we don’t **
Dr Spink MP * Heptology Independent MP
Robert Walter Equalities
Sir Menzies Campbell UN Global Group
Paul Rowen MP Workplace violence needlesticks
Eleanor Laing Headaches
Alan Johnson* phoned Health
Vince Cable* Heptology
Baroness Uddin
David Cameron (office phoned bereaved)
Anthony Steen drop in*
Mr Paul Burstow Primary Care
Nick Hurd MP* Shadow Minister for Charities Prisons
Tim Boswell MP Patient Safety
Rob Wilson MP* Opposition Whip Education
Don Foster MP
Patrick Hall Patient & Public Involvement
Patrick McCormack* Heamophilia
Ann Cryer ME Group husband died liver cancer
6 Asks Mailed MP’s in All Parliamentary Groups.
Baroness Gould Chair Sexual Health Group
Diane Abbott Thalassaniema Major
Eric Illsley Stroke Group
Rosie Cooper Fibromyalgia
Paul Clark Fibromyalgia
Sharon Hodgson Cancer
Janet Dean Headache
Robert Flello Alcohol Group
Lynda Waltho Alcohol Group
Stephen Hesford Ageing Group
Nigel Waterson Ageing
Paul Flynn Ageing
Mr Cruddas Migration
Sarah Teather Migration
John Bercow Migration
Frank Field Balanced Migration
Daniel Kawczynski Balanced Migration
Marsha Singh Pakistan
Gorden Prentice Pakistan
Mr Duddridge Pakistan
Mr Bayley Africa
Stephen O Brein Africa
Martin Caton Equalities
June Morgan Equalities
Nia Griffith Equalities
Russell Brown UN
DR Gavin Strang UN
David Heath UN
Mike Gapes UN
John Battle Global Action
Lord Borrie Consumer Affairs
Linda Gilroy Consumer Affairs
Nigel Griffiths Consumer Affairs & Trading
Edward Garnier Legal & Constitutional Affairs
Andy Slaughter Legal & Constitutional Affairs
Mr Vaz Legal & Constitutional
David Lammy Legal & Constitutional Affairs
Lord Brennan Legal & Constitutional Affairs
Mike Hancock Occupational Safety              
Ian Davidson Occupational Safety
Paul Truswell Occupational Safety
David Hamilton Occupational Safety
Micheal Clapham Occupational Safety
Baroness Gibson Workplace Violence & Bullying
Dr Richard Taylor Patient & Public Involvement
Joan Humble Patient & Public Involvement
Dr Howard Stoate Primary Care & Public Health
Lord De Mauley Hepatology             
Jim Cousins Hepatology             
Jim Dobbin Hepatology             
Shona Mc Issac Hepatology             
Bob Laxton Hepatology
Fabian Hamilton Education
Mr Derek Wyatt Communications
John Robertson Communications
Barbara Follett Pharmaceutical Industry
Ian Liddell Granger Pharmaceutical Industry
Helen Southworth Prison Health
Lord Corbett Prison Health
Lord Turnburg Medical Research
Baroness Finlay Medical Technology KITS

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