The additional report by Sir Brian Langstaff was published after additional hearings on the Infected Blood Inquiry which heard that only 460 of the 2,043 people asked to make a claim had received compensation.

Leigh Day partner Gene Matthews said: ‘We welcome the Additional Report on Compensation published by the Infected Blood Inquiry. It goes a long way to address the issues that our clients have highlighted and which we passed to Sir Brian in the evidence we gave in the further hearings. We hope the Cabinet Office and the Government accept those recommendations and take immediate steps to ensure the infected and affected communities are properly compensated for what happened to them.

‘Sir Brian's findings echo the concerns which have been raised repeatedly by our clients. The Government and Infected Blood Compensation Authority have an opportunity to rebuild trust with the community, to be transparent and inclusive going forward. It is time for the infected and affected to be put at the heart of the scheme as they should have been from the outset.'

A Government spokesperson said: ‘This additional report reflects the unprecedented nature of the Infected Blood Scandal and the thoroughness of the inquiry's investigation.

‘We are grateful to the inquiry for its ongoing work. We will now consider all of its recommendations. 

‘Over £300m has been paid to victims since the compensation scheme opened last October and we are taking action to enable a quicker compensation process.'