He vowed to tackle pollution after girl’s death
LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan pledged to tackle the ‘deadly scourge’ of car pollution after a girl became the first person in Britain to have air pollution listed as a cause of death.
Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who was nine, lived near one of Britain’s busiest roads when she died in 2013 following a severe asthma attack.
An inquest heard that in the three years before her death, Ella suffered multiple seizures and was admitted to hospital 27 times.
In December, coroner Philip Barlow found that air pollution ‘made a material contribution’ to Ella’s death.
The verdict at Southwark Coroner’s Court found she was exposed to ‘excessive’ levels of pollution by living close to the South Circular road in Lewisham, South-East London.
At the time, Mr Khan welcomed the verdict. He added: ‘Toxic air pollution is a public health crisis, and the inquest underlined yet again the importance of pushing ahead with bold policies such as expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone to inner
London.’ At the inquest, Mr Barlow said levels of nitrogen dioxide near Ella’s home exceeded guidelines from both the World Health Organisation and the European Union.
Ella’s mother said afterwards: ‘We’ve got the justice for her which she so deserved. But also it’s about other children still, as we walk around our city of high levels of pollution.’