THE daughter of a Sedbergh man who died after coming into contact with contaminated blood has said she hopes a public inquiry will bring ‘clarity’.

Sarah Dorricott’s father Mike Dorricott was one of the people affected by the scandal of the 1970s and ‘80s, which left 2,400 people dead.

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

A public inquiry into the events began in London on Monday.

“I think with the start of the inquiry, there was a lot of heightened emotions,” said Sarah, who lives in Leeds. “It was quite a big day for us and something that campaigners have been waiting for for quite a long time.”

The beginning of the infected blood inquiry, which is expected to last at least two-and-a-half years, began with a commemoration of the victims.

Images of individuals and private family moments filled a large screen while the music of Read All About it by Emeli Sande played, and there was more than half an hour of video testimonies.

There were also readings by Downton actor David Robb and actress Isla Blair, who through a segment called This is What We Know, spelt out the figures, facts and impact.

According to the terms of reference of the inquiry, which were published in July, it will consider “whether there have been attempts to conceal details of what happened” through the destruction of documents or withholding of information.

It will also consider if those attempts were deliberate and if “there has been a lack of openness or candour” in the response of the Government, NHS bodies and other officials to the people affected.

Sarah, 27, has been involved in the contaminated blood campaign for a number of years – but she remains unconvinced that the inquiry will bring real justice.

“I think there are quite a few campaigners, myself included, who are a little bit sceptical about if we are going to get justice in the end,” she said. “I think it’s a little naive to think it’s all going to work out in the end. I think because campaigners have been put on the backburner for decades, I think they are a little bit sceptical.”

She hopes that the inquiry will bring ‘complete clarity’ to what happened.

“”I’m not bothered about compensation,” she said. “I want to find out exactly what happened and why. It’s about holding people accountable and being able to say for future generations that this is what went wrong and how we can prevent it again.”