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Leonard Levy sent Sandra Falconer (Scottish Office) a copy of the standard letter used by the Department of Health when responding to correspondence about haemophilia patients who had been infected with Hepatitis C.

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Ann Towner sent a memo to Paul Pudlo explaining Scottish Office officials had confirmed they were content to follow the Department of Health's line on ex-gratia payment schemes.

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John Horam wrote to Reverend Alan Tanner of the Haemophilia Society to explain that there would be no compensation scheme for people infected with Hepatitis C through NHS treatment.

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Gary Wildridge drafted a memo to the Secretary of State asserting that "These patients were given the best treatment available in the light of medical knowledge at the time and treatment which was necessary at that time"; and stated that money spent on compensation would be "money diverted from the care of other patients."

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Scottish solicitors enquiring about the likelihood of an ex gratia payment scheme were told that patients received the "best available treatment".

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James Douglas-Hamilton wrote to Thomas Graham, a Scottish solicitor enquiring about the likelihood of an ex gratia payment scheme, following the "best treatment available" explanation.

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James Douglas-Hamilton wrote to Norman Hogg, a Scottish solicitor enquiring about the likelihood of an ex gratia payment scheme, following the "best treatment available" explanation.

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David Bell wrote a memo to the Minister for Health and Community Care explaining that the previous administration rejected claims for financial support for people with haemophilia infected with Hepatitis C. It was recommended the Minister endorse that decision.

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A memo to the Minister for Health and Community Care set out the Government's position to date - "that there is no fault on the part of the NHS because patients received the best treatment available given the state of knowledge at the time" - and it set out an initial overview of the events in the mid 1980s.

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The Scottish Office's Health Care Policy Division wrote to an individual stating that the needs of people "whose condition results from inadvertent harm" were met from benefits available to the population in general.

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Sam Galbraith, Minister of State in the Scottish Office, wrote to Michael Martin MP referring to those infected with Hepatitis C as "sufferers, whose conditions have resulted from inadvertent harm".

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A draft reply from Susan Deacon to an MP asserted that "the risks of not receiving the transfusion were apparently deemed to outweigh the risk of any infection being transmitted" and the "resultant transmission of Hepatitis C was a tragic but inadvertent consequence of this balance of risks."

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Minutes from a meeting held on 30 May 2000 between Susan Deacon and ministers recorded the decisions made at the meeting. Susan Deacon was keen to "move on" with publication of the report on the Heat Treatment of Blood Products.

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A letter prepared on behalf of Susan Deacon to accompany the publication of the report on Heat Treatment of Blood Products repeated expressions of sympathy to those infected through blood products.

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Dr (later Professor) Aileen Keel was a senior medical officer in the SHHD during this time.

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In her written statement Professor Aileen Keel stated she had been against financial compensation for those infected with Hepatitis C describing it as a "dangerous precedent."

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In her written statement Professor Aileen Keel stated that she "regretted" the judgment of Mr Justice Burton had "forced" a move away from the principle of no negligence, no compensation.

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In oral evidence Professor Aileen Keel confirmed she carried out a weekly general haematology clinic with Dr (later Professor) Christopher Ludlam at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

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In oral evidence Professor Aileen Keel explained the basis for her view that the treatment provided had been the best available in light of medical knowledge at the time.

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In oral evidence Professor Aileen Keel acknowledged that the "best treatment available" line encompassed not only those infected through blood products but also those infected through transfusion, for whom the "very best efforts" of the PFC and BPL were irrelevant.

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