Mother wins battle for fresh inquest into the death of daughter

Mother wins her battle for a fresh inquest into the death of her nine-year-old daughter whose fatal asthma attack ‘was linked to air pollution’

  • Ella Kissi-Debrah lived 25 metres from South Circular Road in Lewisham, London 
  • Died in 2013 after 3 years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for asthma attacks
  • Lawyers said inquest in 2014 did not investigate potential impact of air pollution
  • 2018 report found air pollution levels at Catford monitoring station one mile from her home ‘consistently’ exceeded lawful EU limits

Ella Kissi-Debrah suffered a fatal asthma attack believed to have been linked to air pollution near her home

A mother today won her battle for a fresh inquest into the death of her nine-year-old daughter who suffered a fatal asthma attack thought to have been linked to air pollution. 

Ella Kissi-Debrah lived 25 metres from the South Circular Road in Lewisham in south east London – one of the capital’s busiest roads.

The schoolgirl suffered a cardiac arrest at the age of just eight and died in February 2013 after three years of seizures, and 27 visits to hospital for asthma attacks.  

An inquest in 2014 focused only on Ella’s medical care and concluded the cause of her death was acute respiratory failure as a result of a severe asthma attack.   

However in 2018 a report found air pollution levels at the Catford monitoring station – one mile from her home – ‘consistently’ exceeded lawful EU limits. 

Her mother, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, has spent five years trying to fight for answers and applied to the court for another inquest after the new evidence came to light. 

High Court judges ruled today that the result of the 2014 inquest should be quashed and a new hearing held.   

Ella may become the first person in the UK for whom air pollution is listed as the cause of death.  

Speaking outside court, her mother said today’s decision was ‘just the beginning’ of their family’s fight for justice. 

She added: ‘We can get to the bottom now of why Ella really died and why she suffered so much. 

‘It is very important for us as a family to understand that. I was sitting by her bedside and literally praying for her to come round and wake up.  

‘Ella became so ill so suddenly and suffered greatly. This is a point I try to get across. She fought back and still never really found out why.

‘I always promised to her we would get to the bottom of this.

‘It’s not going to bring her back, but as a mother I wouldn’t want any other family to go through this. We never got to the bottom of what her triggers were – it came after she died. We have spent years since her death getting to this moment.’

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah (pictured outside court today), has spent five years trying to fight for answers surrounding the death of her daughter, and applied to the court for another inquest after the new evidence came to light

Giving the go-ahead for a new inquest today, Judge Mark Lucraft QC, sitting with two other judge, said: ‘In our judgment, the discovery of new evidence makes it necessary in the interests of justice that a fresh inquest be held.’ 

The judge said it is submitted on behalf of Ella’s family that the new evidence demonstrates there was an ‘arguable failure’ by the state to comply with its duties under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to life. 

In a statement after the ruling this morning, her mother Rosamund Kissi-Debrah said: ‘I am absolutely delighted by today’s ruling and look forward to finally getting the truth about Ella’s death.

‘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.’

Outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Ella Kissi-Debrah’s mother Rosamund said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the ‘amazing victory’.

She said: ‘It’s a fantastic day for my family and my surviving children.’

Mrs Kissi-Debrah added that she had ‘absolutely no doubt whatsoever’ that Ella’s death was related to air pollution.

She said she wanted ‘to show to the British public what air pollution can actually do – they need to start getting angry about this’.

Jocelyn Cockburn, partner at law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, who represents Mrs Kissi-Debrah, said: ‘A new inquest will also mean the Government and other public bodies will have to answer difficult questions about why they have ignored the overwhelming evidence about the detrimental health impact of air pollution and allowed illegal levels to persist for more than a decade.

‘There is now momentum for change and it is fundamental that air pollution is brought down to within lawful limits.’

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