THE daughter of a Sedbergh man who died after coming into contact with contaminated blood is ‘ecstatic’ that a public inquiry will be held into the scandal.

On Tuesday (July 11) Theresa May announced a wide-ranging inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 1980s, which left 2,400 people dead.

Patients were treated with blood products imported from America and with blood that had been taken from high risk donors, such as drug addicts and prisoners. Sarah Dorricott’s father, Mike Dorricott, was one of those affected.

MORE TOP STORIES:

He died from liver cancer caused by hepatitis C that he contracted after undergoing routine dental surgery in 1983.

Ms Dorricott, who now lives in Leeds, has backed calls for an inquiry and said she ‘had a little cry’ when she heard the news.

“I’m over the moon,” Ms Dorricott said.

“I burst out crying because this could mean that we finally get some closure, that we find out who was responsible and why it happened and we can try to finally move on.

“Lives were disregarded and this scandal was never given the correct attention in the immediate aftermath. It was ignored and hushed up for fear of liability and we have finally been recognised.

“We will not go away. Our loved ones may die, but that doesn’t mean the problem will go away. If anything it will add fuel to our fire for justice.

“The baton has been handed down generations and we will keep fighting for our deceased loved ones.”

Last week six Westminster party leaders, including Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron, wrote to Theresa May, urging the Prime Minister to call for a ‘Hillsborough-style’ inquiry into the scandal.

It said that the six leaders believed that those affected by the scandal had ‘the right ‘to know what went wrong and why and that officials were ‘called to account’ for their actions

On Tuesday (July 11), the Prime Minister said the treatment of thousands of haemophiliacs and other patients with blood products infected with hepatitis C and HIV was an ‘appalling tragedy’ which should never have happened.

“Thousands of patients expected the world-class care our NHS is famous for, but they were failed,” she said in a statement.

“At least 2,400 people died and thousands more were exposed to Hepatitis C and HIV, with life-changing consequences.

“The victims and their families who have suffered so much pain and hardship deserve answers as to how this could possibly have happened.”

Downing Street said it would now open discussions with those affected as to exactly what form the inquiry would take.

“Consultation will now take place with those affected to decide exactly what form the inquiry will take, such as a Hillsborough-style independent panel or a judge-led statutory inquiry,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.