Thousands of people in Britain who were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood transfusions will be compensated decades after the scandal, the UK government has announced.

The victims will receive a payment of £100,000 ($121,000), an interim measure that Brian Langstaff, the chairman of a public inquiry into the long-running story, last month recommended giving out immediately instead of waiting for an ongoing inquiry to conclude.

The former High Court judge said that the "moral case for compensation is beyond doubt."

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The tax-free payments to survivors of the scandal and the bereaved partners of the thousands believed to have died from the contaminated blood transfusions, would be made by the end of October.

In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, thousands of people with haemophilia contracted hepatitis C and HIV after receiving blood, mainly from the U.S., administered through the UK's state National Health Service (NHS).

Due to a shortage of blood products in Britain, the NHS bought much of its supplies from suppliers whose donors, including prisoners and other groups at high risk of infection, had been paid for their blood.

An estimated 2,400 patients died after being infected through the contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

A previous inquiry concluded in 2009 found that ministers should have put measures in place sooner to make sure British blood supplies were more self-sufficient and less reliant on imports.

It also called for compensation for those impacted, and was followed up by a 2017 High Court ruling permitting victims and their families to seek damages against the state.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a statement, acknowledged that "nothing can make up for the pain and suffering endured by those affected by this tragic injustice."

But he added the government was "taking action to do right by victims and those who have tragically lost their partners by making sure they receive these interim payments as quickly as possible."

However, campaigners said the move failed to take into account most family members affected by the scandal, many of whom will miss out on the interim payments.

When the public inquiry concludes next year it is expected to make final recommendations on compensation for this wider group of people, including bereaved parents and the children of victims.