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A man who was gravely ill as a child after receiving contaminated blood has criticised the UK Government over uncertainty surrounding payments to infected blood scandal victims.

Kirk Ellis, from Penyrheol, was born with haemophilia – a condition which affects the body’s ability to create blood clots; which is needed to help stop bleeding.

Mr Ellis, 39, received contaminated blood in 1983, when he was just 18 months old – contracting Hepatitis-C in the process – a virus which has caused Mr Ellis to suffer cirrhosis of the liver.

In a landmark report published in March, Sir Robert Francis QC was asked to make recommendations for compensation for those affected by the scandal.

Among those recommendations was that interim payments, of a minimum of £100,000, should be arranged for those exposed to infected blood during the 1970s and 1980s – calling for the payments to be made available as soon as possible.

Statistically, a victim of the scandal dies every four days.

It affected between 5,000 and 30,000 people in the 1970s and 1980s, and has been referred to as ‘the worst treatment disaster in NHS history’. Around 3,000 people died as a result.

However, in the House of Commons last week, Michael Ellis MP, who is the UK Government’s Paymaster General, said there would be no immediate announcements on when they payments would begin.

Mr Ellis hit out at the government and said: “They received the report on March 14 and haven’t done anything. About 50 victims have died in that time.

“It’s disgusting that they have paid for the report but not implemented any of the recommendations in it that Sir Robert calls for – interim payments and uplift to the support payments.”

Mr Ellis said the support would help him find “suitable homing”.

Caerphilly’s Labour MP, Wayne David, said: “It is a disgrace that the Tory Government has been so slow to provide any compensation to those affected by the infected blood scandal.

“The Paymaster General received Sir Robert’s report on compensation four months ago, yet we are still no closer to receiving an outline of the compensation framework or any interim payments. 

“Kirk deserves compensation for the appalling way he has been treated and he should have an interim payment now”.