THE victim of an NHS blood scandal said he hopes a Government Bill will bring long overdue justice for those affected.

Ron Venton, 69, has terminal liver cancer which doctors say is likely to be a direct result of the hepatitis he contracted through infected blood.

The Devonport pensioner is among 4,670 haemophiliacs given hepatitis C through contaminated blood in the 1970s and 1980s. Of that number, 1,243 people were also infected with HIV.

More than 2,000 have died as a result of the blunder.

Mr Venton said he hopes a Private Members' Bill, which is due to be discussed by a House of Lords committee in January, will help the remaining victims. He accused the Government of dragging its feet.

The Bill is based on the recommendations of an independent inquiry which called for increased compensation for those infected.

Mr Venton, who said he is the country's oldest haemophiliac, said: "I hope the Bill brings about change. We're in a situation where most of us are struggling financially and health wise.

"The Government should have already done more for people who are suffering because of an error in allowing them to have infected blood – leaving some with AIDS, some with liver cancer and hep C.

"They've been dragging their feet for a long time. There's not quite as many of us left to fight as there were at the beginning."

Mr Venton believes he contracted hepatitis C from blood plasma treatment in 1988.

He had to abandon his accountancy practice of 30 years, has suffered complex health problems and been wheelchair- bound for three years.

He has received a £20,000 ex-gratia payment, like all haemophiliacs affected.

The two-year, privately-funded Archer investigation was set up after decades of campaigning by victims and their families.

Led by Labour Peer Lord Archer and published in February, it called the disaster "a horrific human tragedy".

It described "lethargic" progress towards national self-sufficiency in blood products in England and Wales, where it took 13 years compared to just five years in Ireland.

As a result the NHS bought blood from US suppliers who used what became known as 'Skid Row' donors, such as prison inmates, who were more likely to have HIV and hepatitis C.

The new Bill, introduced by The RT Hon The Lord Morris of Manchester, has this month received a second reading in the Lords. It is due to be considered at committee stage on January 7.