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Bereaved spouses of victims of the infected blood scandal have been told by the government to pay back their compensation.

From July, 12 former partners received a letter telling them that £10,000 paid out to them in compensation was an error.

The letter seen by the Daily Mail told the dozen that the money they were given up to five years ago was paid out mistakenly.

The letter says that their partners died more than six months prior to their applications being made.

It read: ‘Unfortunately, this means you were not eligible for the bereavement lump sum and should not have received this payment.

‘We sincerely apologise that this error was not identified at an earlier stage.’

The infected blood scandal was described as one of the worst treatment mistakes in NHS history by Sir Brian Langstaff, who chaired a public inquiry into it.

Between the 1970s and 1990s more than 3,000 people died from HIV and hepatitis viruses after contaminated blood was given to them. There were 30,000 people infected.

Campaigners and some of those affected by infected blood, gathering in Westminster, London.

Victims of the health disaster are entitled to billions through the government’s compensation scheme.

The Hepatitis C Trust, dedicated to helping those who suffer from the disease, said the letter was ‘unforgivable’.

Rachel Halford, the charity’s chief executive, said: ‘If the aim of compensation was to provide peace and resolution to those who’ve suffered, the thought that at any moment they might be contacted to repay part of it flies in the face of that.

‘It is unforgivable that people who’ve been through so much now have to live with the fear that the recompense they received for an injustice inflicted on them by the state may be taken away from them, even if the fault for the error lies with the Government.’

The letter adds that the repayment is not expected in one lump sum.

A spokesman for the government said he was aware of the compensation recall.

He added that the Department of Health and the Cabinet Office have told officials to suspend any repayment orders.

The spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts remain with all the victims and families who suffered from the appalling injustice of the infected blood scandal, and nobody will want to see those families facing any more hardship or unfairness as a result of failings by the state.’