Discover the Draft Principles and Location for the UK Memorial: Join Our Engaging Webinar Series!

In our commitment to keeping you informed and engaged throughout this important process, we have organised a series of webinars aimed at discussing our recent initiatives. These sessions were designed to present our proposed location and guiding principles for the UK Memorial, as well as to gather your invaluable feedback.

If you were unable to attend the webinars or would like to revisit the content, recordings of the sessions held on 1st July and 30th July are available for viewing. Additionally, we have prepared a written summary of the key information shared during these discussions.

Overview of the Infected Blood Memorial Committee’s Efforts

The webinar commenced with an overview of the work undertaken by the Infected Blood Memorial Committee since its establishment in October 2025. The Committee comprises individuals with direct lived experience, representing all routes of transmission from across the four nations of the UK.

Since its inception, the Committee has primarily concentrated on organising the first two commemorative events:

• 19 November 2025 (Church House, London): This event initiated a national dialogue on memorialisation, gathering community insights on themes, locations, and the emotions that the memorial should encapsulate.
• 19 May 2026 (St Paul’s Cathedral): A service was held on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Inquiry report to honour and remember all those affected by the contaminated blood scandal.

Determining the Location for the UK Memorial

The Committee’s attention is now shifting towards the establishment of the Infected Blood Memorials. In line with the recommendations of Sir Brian, memorials will be erected in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England, with an additional memorial at Treloar’s School. Furthermore, the Inquiry’s Memorial is now permanently located at Manchester University.

Given that separate memorials are either already in place or planned for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Committee has resolved that the principal UK Memorial will be situated in England. However, a decision is still required concerning the specific location within England for the UK Memorial.

During the webinar, we presented our current working hypothesis regarding the memorial’s location, suggesting London as a potential site based on the evidence collected thus far. Feedback from the community has consistently indicated a preference for London, though it is acknowledged that no single location will satisfy every member of the community.

In fact, prior to the Church House event, only two respondents expressed that the memorial should not be in London, while many advocated for a memorial that encompasses not only London but also other areas across the UK. This feedback aligns with the Committee’s commitment to support the development of memorials in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and at Treloar’s School.

Draft Guiding Principles for the Memorial

In conjunction with the memorial location discussions, the Committee has developed a draft set of guiding principles to underpin the UK Memorial. These principles aim to convey the community’s aspirations for the memorial and its intended impact.

The guiding principles will also serve as a reference for the selected design team, ensuring they understand the sentiments the community wishes to evoke during visits to the memorial. The feedback gathered during the Church House event has been instrumental in shaping these principles, which reflect the community’s input.

The Committee has proposed five core guiding principles for the UK Memorial, summarised as follows:

• Pillar 1: Truth, Justice, and Reflection
• Pillar 2: Remembrance and Recognition
• Pillar 3: Inclusivity and UK-Wide Accessibility
• Pillar 4: A Living and Evolving Space
• Pillar 5: Transparency and Stewardship

Invitation for Community Feedback

We are committed to ensuring that this memorial genuinely reflects the needs and desires of those impacted by the scandal. The full texts of the proposed guiding principles are available in the linked questionnaire below.

We encourage you to review these principles and share your thoughts by completing our questionnaire by Monday, 10th August. We also recognise that not everyone has online access, so if you know someone who would like to provide feedback but cannot do so directly, we would greatly appreciate your assistance in facilitating their input.