'Massive sense of relief' for Leeds woman as MPs back compensation for victims of NHS infected blood scandal

But the battle is not over yet, according to Louise Edwards, 49, whose father died as a result of the tragedy.

She was just 12-year-old when dad Jack was infected with HIV in what has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.

A public inquiry into the scandal has said that “wrongs were done at individual, collective and systemic levels”.

And now, following a government defeat on a vote in the House of Commons on Monday (November 4), ministers will be forced to set up a body to compensate victims and their families within three months of a new bill coming into law.

It comes after an estimated 30,000 people were infected with HIV by Factor VIII blood products that had been imported into the country from the US in the 1970s and 1980s.

The resulting inquiry, which is set to deliver its final report at the start of next year, estimated that 1,350 people were infected with the virus, of whom more than 1,000 had died by the end of 2019.

A further 26,800 people are thought to have contracted hepatitis C, of whom 1,820 had died by 2019.

Watching the result of the recent Commons vote at the start of the week, Louise, a complaints adviser from Churwell, said her heart was in her mouth.

“There was a massive sense of relief that the amendment went through,” she said. “We've won the battle, but we haven't won the war. We need to get to the finish line now.

“It feels like we’ve had to force the government's hand to even get to this stage, and we’ve had to fight every step of the way.

"We’ve only got a public inquiry because the government was strong-armed into setting it up.”

Her dad Jack worked as a foreman at the former John Collier clothing warehouse on Kirkstall Road. He had haemophilia, a rare condition that affects the blood’s ability to clot, for which he was treated at home with Factor VIII injections.

It was not unusual for him to spend time in hospital – and Louise remembers it as a part of growing up, along with games she would play with him and her older brother David, where Jack would adapt the rules to accommodate his affected joints.

Jack died in 1985.

The legislation that was passed by the Commons at the start of the week will now need to be approved by the House of Lords before becoming law.

Louise continued: "Compensation is really important for the people who need it to pay their mortgages and bills because they're too ill to work.

"For me, it doesn't make a difference. But it would be an acknowledgement of the government doing wrong – because I've lost someone who would have been very influential in my life.

"You can't really put a price on somebody's life, but the government is going to have to.”

Sir Brian Langstaff, who is chairing the public inquiry, has previously called for a full compensation scheme to be set up immediately. His final report is expected to be delivered in March.

Louise added: “I think we deserve nothing more than a full public apology – and a heartfelt one, not one that's designed for headlines.

"It's not going to stop me missing my dad and hurting, but it would be an acknowledgement of them doing wrong."