Sir Brian Langstaff - the former High Court judge who chairs the Infected Blood Inquiry - has estimated he will not be able to publish his final report into the scandal until autumn this year.
Sir Brian was speaking on the final day of public hearings at the Inquiry, which has spent more than four years examining the circumstances which saw thousands of people infected with lethal viruses including HIV and hepatitis C through NHS blood products, along with the Government's response to this.
He said he had been persuaded that July was too tight a timescale - due to the complicated legal process required and the need to alert those who may be subject to criticism - and that his final report and recommendations would instead be published in autumn. Sir Brian did however promise he would meet requests from the lawyers of those affected and infected to produce an interim report dealing with compensation - ideally before Easter.
