Lord David Owen
Questions
Heat Treatment
During your time as Health Minister…
General Heat
Do you recall ever being asked to make resources available for research into the possible heat-treatment of Factor Concentrates.
If you had been asked, would you have done that?
Do you recall ever being asked to make resources available for research into any other viral inactivation methods relating to Factor Concentrates?
If you had been asked, would you have done that?
Did you ever request that BPL undertake research into heat-treatment?
Did you ever request that BPL undertake research into any other viral inactivation methods?
Albumin
Were you aware that the albumin blood product was subjected to heat treatment? (http://www.penroseinquiry.org.uk/finalreport/text/354876_chapter_23.html) 23.7
Were you aware that this has been happening as early as 1945?
Were you aware of studies from the 1940’s which showed that albumin subjected to heat-treatment did not transmit hepatitis, and that non-heat treated albumin did? (http://www.penroseinquiry.org.uk/finalreport/pdf/PEN0131309.PDF) P12
Self-Sufficiency
When did you make your pledge for self-sufficiency, and was this ever achieved? (It wasn’t)
In reference to this document dated 21st Jan 1976.
Why did you not feel it prudent to await the outcome of the requested Scottish Laboratory and BPL discussion, before agreeing that negotiations could commence with Armour?
Were you provided with any update on the requested BPL / Scotland discussion?
To your knowledge, did BPL / Scotland share their technology as requested?
Were you made aware that the BPL product was inferior to the Scottish product?
Were you made aware that doctors may be less likely to use a British product if it had inferior solubility to a commercial product?
What, at this time, was your understanding of the viral risks associated with commercial Factor VIII?
In reference to this document dated 11th March 1976.
Para 1 states that it was your intention to achieve self-sufficiency by the middle of 1977. Were you ever made aware that this would not be achieved before you left office?
Were you made aware of any reasons as to why this could not be achieved before you left office?
Para 1 states that you were anxious for there to be maximum co-operation between England and Scotland, did this happen?
(para 2) Were you made aware, at this time, that several regional transfusion centres had not yet been able to begin to work towards their individual targets for plasma production?
(para 2) Were you made aware, at this time, that there were those who thought that the target set in 1973, should be considerably higher?
In reference to Hansard Feb 1975 (https://bit.ly/34Vrobv) where you stated to parliament that “I concede that it will take two or three years before we are at full production”...
Between Feb 1975 and March 1976, had you been made aware of any reason why the two or three year timescale mentioned in 1975 could not be met?
You also said that “Members must face the fact that with limited resources we have to choose, and these are very difficult choices and priorities.” - Was infection risk of Factor VIII part of the decision-making referred to here or were you talking purely in terms of finances?
In reference to Hansard Oct 1975 (https://bit.ly/31RcdOU) where you stated that “Factor VIII in the form of cryoprecipitate can usually be supplied”...
Can you confirm that the supply of Cryoprecipitate had not and was not a problem, but rather the problem was the supply of British Factor Concentrate?
To be clear, there was no problem of supply when it came to cryoprecipitate?
If there was no supply problem with Cryo, were you ever advised, that until self-sufficiency had been achieved, British cryo could be used over commercial concentrate, to make-up any shortfall in British concentrate?
Did that option ever occur to you?
If only British concentrate and cryo had been used (to make up any shortfall), would you have regarded that as self-sufficiency, in the sense that no products would have been imported?
In any case, would you agree that this approach to treatment would have meant the UK was not reliant on any other country for haemophilia treatment?
Is it fair to say that self-sufficiency could have been achieved at any moment if that approach had been adopted?
In reference to Hansard Feb 1975 (https://bit.ly/2YTUynC) you were asked “what is being done to increase the amount of the Factor VIII drug produced by the blood transfusion service known as cryoprecipitate”….
But the answer you gave was about concentrate, did you understand the difference between cryo and concentrate?
What was your understanding of the difference between the two?
What had advisors explained to you about the differences between cryo and concentrate?
In your answer, you refer to concentrate as “the best known treatment”...
What was your understanding at this time of any difference in viral transmission risk between cryo and concentrate?
Who advised you that concentrate was the best known treatment or was that a conclusion you came to by yourself?
If you had been made aware of the level of increased hepatitis risks associated with concentrate, would you still have referred to it as “the best known treatment”
Would you agree that just because one medicine may be more easily administered than another, if it carries with it a greater risk of possible side effects, it would not necessarily be “the best known treatment”
Would you agree that “the best known treatment” would be the one that can be used and would be least likely to infect patients with hepatitis?
In your oral evidence to the Archer Inquiry, you said “we had decided to import blood products a year before I became minister, we had no alternative”
Were you aware either before or after you became Minister, that cryo could be an alternative to imported concentrate?
Were you aware that cryo could be an alternative to imported concentrate when giving evidence to the Archer Inquiry?
In your oral evidence to the Archer Inquiry, you said “it is always a very different question for ministers to reveal a risk or to get on as far as possible to reduce the risk. I took a choice to reduce the risk, and it seemed to me the right choice at that time.”
You say that you took a choice to reduce the risk, did you also make a choice to not reveal the risk?
Do you think you should have revealed the risk?
Why didn’t you reveal the risk?
In your oral evidence to the Archer Inquiry, you said “haemophiliacs were well aware of the worry that was around blood supplies and they were given to understand that we would be self-sufficient by 1977 or 1978”
Are you aware of any official efforts made by the Department of Health to make haemophiliacs aware of any worry around blood supplies during your time as Minister?
Are you aware of any official efforts made by the wider Government to make haemophiliacs aware of any worry around blood supplies during your time as Minister?
Are you aware of any official efforts made by pharmaceutical companies to make haemophiliacs aware of any worry around blood supplies during your time as Minister?
In your oral evidence to the Archer Inquiry, you said “I think the onus is on the civil service to come to ministers and say, parliament needs to be told that we have not fulfilled the obligation that has been said to them”
Are you aware of that ever happening in relation to self-sufficiency?
Document Destruction / Cover-Up
Under what rule were you told that your ministerial documents had been destroyed?
Is there any such thing as a “10-year rule”?
Was your consent sort for those documents to be destroyed?
Were papers from any other ministerial positions you held also destroyed?
You have previously stated publicly that you believe the destruction of your papers may be linked to prosecutions which were taking place in France, could you explain that thinking?
