Ella Kissi-Debrah and her mother Rosamund A nine-year-old girl who had a fatal asthma attack may become the first person in the UK to...
A nine-year-old girl who had a fatal asthma attack may become the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as their cause of death, as a fresh inquest is granted by the High Court.
Ella Kissi-Debrah, who lived 25 metres from the South Circular Road in Lewisham - one of London's busiest roads - died in 2013 after suffering seizures for three years.
An inquest in 2014 concluded her death was caused by acute respiratory failure and severe asthma.
But Ella's mother Rosamund campaigned for a second inquest to determine whether air pollution near their home was a contributing factor.
The child was first taken to hospital in 2010 after suffering a coughing fit and was admitted a further 27 times.
A report last year by Professor Stephen Holgate found that air pollution levels at a monitoring station just a mile from Ella's home “consistently” exceeded lawful EU limits during the three years before her death.
Judges at the High Court in London today granted Ms Kissi-Debrah's application for a fresh inquest into her daughter's death.
Judge Mark Lucraft QC and two other judges ruled that the conclusions from the 2014 inquest should be quashed.
Delivering the decision, he said: "In our judgment, the discovery of new evidence makes it necessary in the interests of justice that a fresh inquest be held."
Ms Kissi-Debrah said in a statement that she was 'delighted' and was looking forward to 'finally getting the truth'.
She added: "The past six years of not knowing why my beautiful, bright and bubbly daughter died has been difficult for me and my family, but I hope the new inquest will answer whether air pollution took her away from us.
"If it is proved that pollution killed Ella then the government will be forced to sit up and take notice that this hidden but deadly killer is cutting short our children's lives."
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