MPs to reintroduce bill in name of girl, 9, who died in pollution-linked death

Leader Live

6 hours ago

Dubbed 'Ella's Law,' the proposed legislation is named after Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who lived 82ft from the busy South Circular Road in Lewisham and suffered the fatal asthma attack in February 2013.
She became the first person to have air pollution listed as a cause of death following a landmark inquest in 2020.
Sian Berry, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion will present the bill to the House of Commons with a speech on Tuesday July 1, with the aim of making clean air a human right under UK law.
If passed, the bill would require the Government to achieve clean air throughout England by January 1 2030, setting out a pathway to bring the country in line with World Health Organisation air pollution guidelines.
She has so far been backed by cross-party Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP and Independent MPs but hopes that more will support the bill and it will be picked up by the Government in the next King's Speech.
Ella's mother Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah has long campaigned for the Government to introduce stricter air pollution limits since her daughter died.
In 2022, a similar version of Ella's law was steered through the House of Lords by Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb.
It was later sponsored by Caroline Lucas MP in the Commons until Parliament was dissolved for the 2024 general election.
Ms Berry said: 'Deaths like Ella's, and the millions of lives blighted by preventable diseases caused by air pollution, can be a thing of the past if Governments start taking the right action now.
'Rosamund's campaign is gaining momentum and communities across the country are raising air pollution as a key problem in their local area, so it is great to have representatives from all parties joining together to press for a legal right to breathe clean air.
'Finally passing Ella's Law will save lives, as it will make sure we get new targets, and the funding for local areas to achieve them by cutting down on the many causes of toxic pollution, from road traffic to wood burning.'
Ms Adoo Kissi-Debrah said: 'I am delighted Sian and the cross-section of MPs are taking forward Ella's Law in parliament.
'Tackling air pollution should not be a partisan issue, it affects us all, in every constituency in the country.
'I believe that everyone has a right to breathe clean air, no matter where they live, the colour of their skin or their socio-economic background.
'We know that air pollution affects most people in this country, but the harshest effects are felt by poorer and marginalised communities.
'I hope this Labour Government will therefore take forward this Bill to protect all children and adults from the devastating effects of breathing toxic air.'
The announcement comes as campaigners, health professionals, local authorities and schools across the country will mark Clean Air Day on Thursday.
In the UK, toxic air pollution is estimated to cause between 29,000 and 43,000 premature deaths every year, according to The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution.
Sarah Sleet, chief executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said: 'These early deaths represent a failure of government to act as current policies and targets do not do enough to protect public health.
'Toxic air has a detrimental impact on the millions of people living with a lung condition in the UK – with four out of five telling us that it makes their breathing difficulties worse.
'We need action now to protect the public's lungs.'
Ella's estate, over which Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah acts as administrator, sued the Environment Department (Defra), the Department for Transport and the Department of Health and Social Care for compensation over her 'illness and premature death'.
In October last year, three Government departments settled the claim brought by law firm Hodge Jones & Allen for an undisclosed sum, and issued a statement telling Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah 'we are truly sorry for your loss' and that no child should have to suffer as Ella did.