UK Government orders inquiry into contaminated blood scandal

An inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal which has left 2,400 people dead is to be launched.Prime Minister Theresa May told the Cabinet she and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had decided a probe was needed.Details of the UK-wide investigation have yet to be finalised, and consultations will take place with those people affected as to how best to proceed.The Prime Minister's spokesman told a Westminster briefing: 'Jeremy Hunt said that 2,400 people had died and it was necessary to establish the causes of this appalling injustice.'READ MORE: Blood scandal victims condemn Penrose inquiryThousands of haemophiliacs across the UK were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C in the 1970s and 80s, largely due to the use of a blood product sourced from the United States by the NHS that was produced from blood donated by thousands of donors.No criminal charges have ever been brought, and no civil liability has ever been admitted in the UK.A six-year inquiry ordered by the Scottish Government and led by Lord Penrose was criticised by families of victims when it made just one recommendation and did not apportion blame.The 2015 inquiry, which cost £11.3 million, was branded a 'waste of time and money' and a 'whitewash'.