The mother of a schoolgirl killed by air pollution said “finally” making it a legal right to breathe clean air will “save lives”. A group of cross-party MPs said they will reintroduce a bill in the name of a nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah who died from an asthma attack linked to filthy air in 2013.
Her mother Rosamund has long campaigned for the Government to introduce stricter air pollution limits since her daughter died. She 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.”
Dubbed “Ella’s Law,” the proposed legislation is named after Ella, 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 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.