SCOTS who received contaminated blood through the NHS said a judge leading an inquiry into the scandal holds their "hopes in his hands".

The Penrose Inquiry, which comes to an end today, was set up in 2008 by Lord Penrose to investigate the scandal which saw hundreds of patients infected with hepatitis C and HIV through contaminated blood used in NHS hospitals in the 1970s and 1980s.

Bill Wright, chairman of Haemophilia Scotland, who was infected with hepatitis C through his treatment for the disorder in the 1980s, said: "The battle to get this inquiry was long.

"Those infected have been through years of pain and suffering while waiting for it."