A widow whose husband died after receiving infected blood is still waiting for justice, the House of Commons has been told.

But Ministers rejected calls to dramatically increase the support given to thousands of patients who contracted HIV and hepatitis C after the NHS treated them using unscreened blood from the US.

Those affected by HIV currently receive £12,800 a year but an inquiry by Lord Archer of Sandwell, the former MP for Rowley Regis and Tipton and for Warley West, called for Britain to match the compensation paid in Ireland, where payments have reached £870,000.

Walsall South MP Valerie Vaz (Lab) urged the Government to follow Ireland’s example, as she told the Commons about a local man who died as a result of the scandal.

She said: “My constituent Valerie Moule is widowed because, through no fault of her own or of her husband, the blood that he was given as a haemophiliac was contaminated by HIV.

“Ivan Moule was one of the first people to die from contaminated blood, in 1989. This is an unimaginable injustice.

“Ivan Moule innocently received blood as a treatment without knowing that it was killing him.”

She added: “When things go wrong, someone has to take responsibility, and that is the cornerstone of a civilised society.”

Campaigners had paid for Lord Archer’s inquiry out of their own pockets, she said.

“Not only do they have truth on their side, but-since April 2010 - they have had the law on their side. In the Republic of Ireland, a full financial scheme is in place, with a compensation scheme based on civil law principles, but that is not mirrored in this country.”

She added: “Proper financial relief should be paid to those who were infected. As a nation, we should apologise to those families who have suffered.”

Worcestershire MP Mark Garnier (Con Wyre Forest) called for justice for his constituent Ros Cooper, who received NHS treatment for a sever bleeding disorder.

“As a direct result of that treatment she contracted hepatitis C .

“Ros was unable to earn a living for up to two years after both rounds of treatment. In the future she faces a liver transplant, cirrhosis or, worse still, cancer of the liver, as all sufferers of hepatitis C do.”

And Harriett Baldwin (Con West Worcestershire) told the Commons: “Like so many of my colleagues, this issue has been brought to my attention by the impact it has had on the life of a constituent-in my case, the constituent is Colette Wintle.

“Colette was born in 1959 and was diagnosed with haemophilia in 1962. When she went to have her tonsils out in 1976, she was given American blood products which first caused her infection with hepatitis.”

In a statement to the Commons, Public health Minister Anne Milton said: “Having carefully compared the circumstances pertaining here and in the Republic of Ireland during the period when most of the infections occurred, and having taken account of the fact that this tragedy similarly affected many other countries; I do not consider there is a case for accepting Lord Archer’s recommendation that levels of payment here should match those made in Ireland.”