It has been announced that victims of the infected blood scandal will receive an interim compensation payment of £100,000.

The payments will be made to those infected and bereaved partners in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the end of October. Those infected and bereaved partners should be registered with one of the four UK infected blood support schemes to receive payment. Further advice will be available shortly.

The payments will be tax-free and will not affect any financial benefits support a person is receiving.

The announcement follows and meets the recommendations set out by inquiry chair Sir Brian Langstaff in his interim report last month.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: "The infected blood scandal should never have happened. In accepting Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations, today we are taking an important step in righting this historic wrong for the thousands of people infected and bereaved partners left behind.

"Building on the ongoing support we are providing through the England Infected Blood Scheme, these new interim payments of £100,000 will ensure those impacted across the whole country by this injustice can access the compensation they need, right now.

"I’m grateful to those who have campaigned extensively in support of these changes – we have listened and work is underway to ensure those impacted by this tragedy receive the support they rightly deserve."