Bleed the master cylinder before you even attempt to bleed the calipers. That sounds like your problem. The end of the m/c is the highest point in the brake system so air will rise there and cause issues with bleeding.

If you have air in the m/c you'll never get them bled.

Procedure to do this is the same as calipers: pump up the lever, put pressure on the lever and undo the m/c bolt. Tie a rag around it so you don't get brake fluid everywhere. You'll see all of the small air bubbles come out. Repeat until only no more bubbles come out. Then bleed the calipers.

You can buy an hrc m/c bolt that already has a bleed screw in it which makes it a bit less fiddly (not by much though!).

ok well I left the lever tied to the bar over night and found that it was leaking at the double banjo bolt connected to the m/c and at the right caliper bleed nipple.

Got new bleed nipples and it was still leaking from there so I put some plumbers tape on the thread and some grease at the top where it seals to stop air from getting in.

The banjo bolt and connections were lined up perfect at the master cylinder but I replaced the washers and re-fit everything and now no leaks :)

Bled the brakes in less than 2 minutes with the vacuum bleeder and then used the manual method to make sure they were 100%.

I also bled the m/c as Cammo suggested and this made a world of difference.

Now there is about 10mm of movement in the lever and it is very firm. The bike stops almost instantly upon command and I'm extremely happy with it.

I've taped the lever to the bar and will double check tomorrow morning there is no fluid weeping out at all.

Thank god I got this fixed - I've been burning for a ride for 2-3 weeks now! Couldn't be happier with my bike at the moment (although an aftermarket shock would be nice)

Thanks for all the help you guys gave. Appreciate it! :) Will try pass on the things I've known to noobs like myself in the future!