A FAMILY who have been campaigning for justice for their son said the “truth will come out” thanks to a new inquiry into contaminated blood products.

Colin and Janet Smith, from Alway in Newport, said they “want justice” after their son Colin contracted HIV and hepatitis C when he was given the clotting protein Factor VIII, which had come from a prisoner in an American jail.

“I want to know why they killed my son, because that is what they did, they knowingly killed my son.

“I want to know why and I want justice,” she said.

Mrs Smith attended the opening of the public inquiry on Monday, which will consider the treatment of thousands of people in the 1970s and 1980s who were given blood products infected with hepatitis viruses and HIV, and the impact this has had.

“It has taken 28 years to get to this point and it has been non-stop campaigning. Attending the inquiry was very emotional because I got to meet others affected.”

Colin is still as much a part of the family as when he was alive and the couple’s grandchildren visit his grave and talk about their uncle. Pictures of when he was alive are on the walls of the home, including ones when he was in hospital.

“You’re not supposed to bury your children,” Mr Smith said, “that took a long time to come to terms with.

“We only lost one son but there are other families who have lost two, there are some who have lost three or four members, they have wiped out generations.”

Sir Brian Langstaff, chairman of the inquiry, previously said the probe would examine whether there had been an attempt to cover up the scandal, and has promised a “thorough examination of the evidence”.

Mr Smith said: “We were a bit cautious at first because of the last inquiry but he has come out and said he will put people first and he will compel people to give evidence and documentation.”

“I hope the truth will come out and people were recognise what was done. People knew these products from America were unsafe, they were told before they bought them and they still gave them to people.

“I’m just hoping that some of these people live long enough to get their comeuppance.”

Colin died of Aids in 1990 and had hepatitis C after he received contaminated blood products to treat his haemophilia.

“By the time he was one he had AIDS and hepatitis but they didn’t tell us,” Mr Smith said.

“He was two when they told us he had HIV and he was dead for three years when they told us he had hepatitis C. That was only because they called us and asked us to get tested,”

The family have had a huge amount of support from the campaign group Tainted Blood who have been at the inquiry. However, since it was established many people who were affected by the scandal have died.

Mr Smith said: “The group has lost 80 people since the announcement of the inquiry last year. By the end of the inquiry there will be more dead.

“It’s not just haemophiliacs, you have mothers who were given blood during childbirth, men who weren’t told who infected their wives.

“There are thousands of people out there who have hepatitis C and don’t know it.”

The couple plan to keep fighting for the truth and their children have vowed to continue to try and get justice for their brother.

“We are getting a lot of support,” Mr Smith said. “The public need to be aware of this.”

Find out more at taintedblood.info.