Survivors of Scotland's contaminated blood scandal have written to the Health Minister seeking an urgent meeting after he dismissed recommendations from parliament for a public inquiry.
Thousands of people across the UK had pinned their hopes on Andy Kerr to trigger an investigation into what they believe is one of the worst disasters in the history of the NHS. But Kerr said it would not add significantly to an understanding of how blood supplies came to be contaminated with deadly viruses.
Critics, however, said it was a 'cowardly decision' and accused him of showing contempt for the health committee, which strongly recommended an inquiry into the tragedy.
During the late Seventies and early Eighties, thousands of people, including nearly every haemophiliac in the country, were infected with deadly viruses such as Hepatitis C and HIV through infected blood. At least 800 have already died from Aids-related illnesses and hundreds more from chronic liver disease caused by hepatitis.
Investigations into tainted blood scandals in other countries have revealed evidence of wrongdoing on the part of government, health officials and pharmaceutical companies. Campaigners in the UK suspect a massive government cover-up. Hundreds of critical documents were said to have been 'inadvertently destroyed' by an 'inexperienced civil servant'. However, copies later turned up.
Senior legal figures have told The Observer there is evidence of 'significant knowledge of risk and fault' and, in particular, claims that officials knew of the risks of contracting deadly diseases from contaminated blood years before they alerted patients. There are thousands of people who are believed to have been infected with Hepatitis C, which can lie dormant for as long as 20 years, but who have still not been informed.
Philip Dolan, chairman of the Scottish Haemophilia Society, said he had asked for an urgent meeting with the Health Minister and would urge him to reverse his 'cowardly decision'.
He said: 'We are so angry that he has failed this vulnerable group of people. Once again he offers his sympathy. We don't want that. We want answers and we want to make sure that something like this will never happen again. The safety of our blood is a matter of critical importance. Yet politicians continue to stick their heads in the sand, pretend that it was all in the past and pretend that everything's OK.'
Roseanna Cunningham, convenor of the health committee, said survivors and relatives of the bereaved from across the UK had been looking to the Scottish Executive to hold an inquiry.
She said: 'I am extremely disappointed that Andy Kerr did not accept our recommendations, but the issue is not going to go away. The executive is not doing itself any good whatsoever. There is a huge issue of public safety.'
Kerr said that he did not believe a public inquiry would uncover any new evidence or information that is relevant to the causes of the infection of NHS patients through blood and blood products, or lead to significant lessons for the future.
'It would be a diversion of effort from delivering and improving health services today,' he said. 'I cannot see that there is any possible justification for the efforts and costs that would be involved, or that this would bring any benefit to the patients involved.'
