Headline lands journalist Wheeler’s ‘powerful investigation into the NHS infected blood scandal’

Death in the Blood: the Inside Story of the Contaminated Blood Scandal by political editor of the Sunday Times Caroline Wheeler has been acquired by Headline.

Non-fiction publishing director Sarah Emsley bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Martin Redfern at Northbank Talent Management, for publication in hardback, e-book and audiobook in summer 2023.

The synopsis reads: “In the 1970s and 1980s almost 5,000 people in the UK contracted HIV or hepatitis C after being infected by contaminated blood products, including the notorious Factor VIII, yet no organisation or individual has ever been held to account.

“So far, more than 2,800 people are known to have died, while tens of thousands more lives have been destroyed in the families of those affected. Caroline Wheeler has been reporting on this scandal – the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS – for over two decades.

“She has been integral to the campaign for justice for the victims and their families, and played a pivotal role in persuading [then] prime minister Theresa May to agree to an infected blood inquiry in 2019, the findings of which are expected to be published in summer 2023.

“Death in the Blood will be based on thousands of government documents, court and inquiry transcripts, interviews with prime ministers, cabinet ministers, Downing Street advisers, senior civil servants, doctors and, above all, the victims and their families whose personal testimony forms the beating heart of the book.”

Wheeler said: “I’ve been reporting on this shocking and heartbreaking scandal for most of my journalistic career – I can’t let it go. Over the years I’ve grown close to many of the relatives and, using my Westminster contacts, have done all I can to shine a light on their plight. I’m thrilled that Sarah and the team at Headline saw the raw emotional power of the story, which I can now tell in full for the first time."

Emsley commented: “All of us at Headline are incredibly proud to be publishing this affecting and important book which highlights the resilience and bravery of the thousands of families torn apart by this tragic NHS disaster.“Caroline has been working to highlight the plight of all of those affected for over 20 years. There is no one better placed to write the definitive account of their story as government ministers, healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical companies look set to be finally held to account.”