Read the reports in The Argus and from the BBC.
Following Lewes District Council’s lead, two further councils vote in support of Zane’s Law on the same day, 28th March – Brighton & Hove City Council (motion proposed by Green Cllr Kerry Pickett) passed unanimously, and Adur Council (motion proposed by Green Cllr Gabe Crisp).
Read the reports in The Argus and from the BBC.
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Zane Gbangbola's parents have argued the flood water was contaminated with toxic hydrogen cyanide. The Justice Secretary has agreed to discuss the case of Zane Gbangbola with an MP who is campaigning for an independent inquiry into the seven-year-old's death. Zane died during floods in Surrey in 2014. An inquest in 2016 found carbon monoxide emitted by a petrol pump, which the boy's parents hired to clear flood water, poisoned him in his sleep. But his parents contested the inquest verdict, and have argued the flood water was contaminated with toxic hydrogen cyanide from a nearby lake, located on a former landfill site, and claimed that was the ultimate cause for their son's death. More than 30 MPs have signed an early day motion calling for an "independent panel inquiry with full powers to compel disclosure into the death". Alex Chalk committed in the Commons on Tuesday to discuss the case with Labour MP Richard Burgon (Leeds East), who has been campaigning for an independent inquiry.
Mr Burgon told the Commons that the boy's parents were watching proceedings from the public gallery. The MP said: "Zane was just seven when he died following floods 10 years ago this month. The fire brigade detected hydrogen cyanide multiple times." The MP said Zane's parents have been "fighting for the truth about their son's death ever since". He said: "A duty of candour would have helped them to get it." "But, in lieu of that, will the Government establish an independent panel inquiry with full disclosure so that all the evidence can be reviewed by experts, and so we can finally get the truth about what happened to an innocent seven-year-old boy and so that justice can be done?" Mr Chalk said: "He raises a critically important case. Can I suggest that he and I speak to discuss it and see what further steps can properly be taken in this difficult case." Labour shadow justice minister Kevin Brennan welcomed the commitment to discuss the case, but said the Government had not gone far enough on requiring public authorities to act "with candour and transparency" and accused the Government of "persisting with a piecemeal approach". Mr Chalk defended the Government's record, including adopting the Hillsborough Charter, which he said requires public bodies to approach public scrutiny with candour. But he said: "Of course, we will keep this under review." Mr Chalk had earlier told the Commons that the Government has imposed a duty of candour on the police, and is legislating to create a "strong, permanent, and independent public advocate to speak up for victims and their families". By Ben Hatton https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/government-agree-discuss-death-surrey-28668623 A Sussex council has become the first local authority to back a proposed new law to ensure greater transparency over contaminated land.
Zane's Law is named after seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, whose parents say was killed by gas from landfill. Measures include requiring councils to keep public registers of contaminated sites. Lewes District Council unanimously passed a motion in support of the new law on Monday. The motion was proposed by Green councillor Imogen Makepeace. During the meeting, which was attended by Zane's father, Kye Gbangbola, she paid tribute to the "extraordinary courage" of his parents "who are still fighting for the full truth of what happened to their beloved son". She added that the proposed law "would go a long way towards preventing such a tragedy happening to anyone else". The Justice Secretary agreed on Tuesday to discuss the case with Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, who has been campaigning for an independent inquiry. Mr Burgon told the House of Commons that Zane's parents were watching proceedings from the public gallery and asked for an independent panel inquiry to be established. In response, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk suggested the two MPs speak and "see what further steps can properly be taken in this difficult case". Mr Gbangbola and Zane's mother, Nicole Lawler have said when they bought their Chertsey house no environmental searches identified that the field behind the property was a former landfill site. They said this only came to light after their son died following the flooding of the River Thames in 2014. An inquest into Zane's death concluded he was killed by carbon monoxide from a petrol pump used to clear floodwater from his home in Thameside, Surrey, but Mr Gbangbola and Ms Lawler say the petrol pump was not used. The family have said toxic hydrogen cyanide gas from the tip killed Zane and left his father paralysed in the same incident. They have accessed public health documents that stated firefighters found hydrogen cyanide in their home, but no carbon monoxide. A spokesman for the coroner said an "independent, full, frank and fearless inquest" was concluded in September 2016. In a statement, Zane's parents said his life was "stolen when a deadly menace invaded his home". "Zane's Law is a commitment to the wellbeing of our families, our neighbours, and our future generations," they said. "It is brilliant there are decent councils that care about the communities they serve - well done Lewes District Council in this pioneering drive for Zane's Law". Original story by By Amy Walker, Tanya Gupta & PA Media - BBC A Sussex council has been asked to back a proposed new law to ensure greater transparency over contaminated land. The law is named after Zane Gbangbola, a seven-year-old boy whose parents say he was killed by gas from landfill when the River Thames flooded in 2014. Zane's Law calls for measures including that councils keep public registers of contaminated sites. A motion will go before Lewes council on Monday. The government said its thoughts remained with the Gbangbola family. The motion states that current UK regulations are "dangerously inadequate". It has been submitted by Green Party councillor Imogen Makepeace, who said her group hoped Lewes council would pave the way "for more local authorities to take up the call". Zane's father, Kye Gbangbola, welcomed the move and said: "Landfill can be dangerous to local communities. "The almost complete lack of transparency around where these [sites] are, and what's in them, means that most people are completely unaware of the danger." Mr Gbangbola and Zane's mother, Nicole Lawler, have said when they bought their Chertsey house, no environmental searches identified the field behind the property was a former landfill site, and this only came to light after their son had died. An inquest into Zane's death concluded he was killed by carbon monoxide from a petrol pump used to clear floodwater from his home in Thameside, Surrey, but Mr Gbangbola and Ms Lawler say the petrol pump was not used. The family have said toxic hydrogen cyanide gas from the tip killed Zane and left his father paralysed in the same incident. They have accessed public health documents that stated firefighters found hydrogen cyanide in their home, but no carbon monoxide. A spokesman for the coroner said an "independent, full, frank and fearless inquest" was concluded in September 2016. After the Thames flooded again this year, the couple had to leave their home, weeks before the 10th anniversary of Zane's death. They have said the land remains unsafe and a decade on they are still fighting for the truth. Ms Makepeace said: "Many thousands of people live near such potentially dangerous former landfill sites and are entirely unaware of the risks they pose." Her motion asks the council to write to the prime minister, health secretary and environment secretary to express support for new legislation based on the principles of Zane's Law. It asks ministers to support former Green Party leader Baroness Natalie Bennett in her bid to advance Zane's Law and asks the government to fund councils to meet the requirements of any new legislation. The BBC approached Defra, the Environment Agency, the Department of Health and the Prime Minister's office for comment. A government spokesperson responded: "This is a tragic case and our thoughts remain with the Gbangbola family. Throughout the inquest the Environment Agency provided detailed evidence to assist the independent coroner in reaching his conclusions." Original article by Tanya Gupta BBC News The parents of a seven-year-old boy who died during severe floods have compared their case to the Post Office scandal on the 10th anniversary of his death. Zane Gbangbola died after the River Thames flooded his Surrey home in 2014. His parents disputed the results of an inquest in 2016 and say their son was killed by gas washed out of a former landfill site in Chertsey. Kye Gbangbola said the system which failed Post Office workers had failed his son "in a very spectacular manner". "We know the system doesn't work and in this case, for Zane, it truly didn't work," Zane's father added. Mr Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler, Zane's mother, have joined MPs in calling for an independent panel inquiry. They say the report from Surrey coroner Richard Travers was flawed, claiming the full evidence wasn't made available to the inquest. Mr Travers concluded Zane died from carbon monoxide from a petrol pump used by his parents to remove water from their flooded home. But the couple say the petrol pump was not used and have obtained public health documents that say no carbon monoxide was found. A spokesman for the coroner's office said that "an independent, full, frank and fearless inquest" concluded in 2016. In January this year, the Thames burst its banks in Surrey in what Ms Lawler described as "a mirror image of what happened in 2014".
The couple, who had to leave their flooded house a decade after their son died, said a historic landfill nearby was still unsafe. Ms Lawler said: "Nothing has been done to remediate that land or to stop it from flooding. No lessons have yet been learnt. Government bodies such as the council and the Environment Agency used the flawed coroner's report as an excuse to do nothing and to look away." Last Thursday, MPs tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for an independent panel inquiry and said in Zane's case the victims and bereaved had been "blamed, abused and scapegoated". The motion said there had been a lack of proper investigation, masses of evidence undisclosed or ignored, and a "flawed judicial outcome". The EDM, tabled by Hillsborough survivor and Liverpool West Derby Labour MP Ian Byrne, said the Post Office scandal had reemphasised the need for a Hillsborough Law and more cases would benefit from the transparency measures called for by Hillsborough Law campaigners, including Zane's parents. In the Post Office scandal, hundreds of sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly prosecuted after faulty computer software calculated money was missing from Post Office branches. And last year, the government responded to a 2017 report calling for key reforms following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, but families said pledges did not go far enough. During the 10-year campaign by the family of Zane, they obtained Public Health England papers which said the fire service detected no carbon monoxide. Mr Gbangbola said: "People are now very familiar with things like the sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses and the way in which they were treated and [how] they went through proceedings through the courts but the outcomes were incorrect. "Hillsborough went through processes, proceedings, inquests - the outcome was incorrect. "It is now 10 years to the day when Zane was killed in a house infused with hydrogen cyanide." A pledge to consider a public inquiry for Zane was included in Labour's 2019 manifesto and the couple have called on their Conservative MP and ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to help them before he stands down at the next election, by ensuring Zane has an independent panel inquiry. Zane's parents will attend a memorial service on Thursday to mark the anniversary of his death, and have asked people to remember their son for the person he was as they continue to fight for truth. Mr Gbangbola said: "We are a family where every day we have to talk about how our child died. "This should be an opportunity to be able to speak about how [he] lived." He said: "We feel the pain of Zane's death every day." Describing him as a "remarkable little boy", Mr Gbangbola said: "He was bright, clever, and he did many things in the time that he was with us. "He was a little environmental activist. He helped found his school's environmental team across the middle, lower and upper schools. "He read at the age of a teenager, when he was only six years old. He raised a lot of money for different charities. Zane loved people and people loved Zane. "He had every reason to live a full life but he was let down. "So we cherish our memories of Zane as a beautiful child and we fight for truth." A government spokesperson said: "This is a tragic case and our thoughts remain with the Gbangbola family. Throughout the inquest, the Environment Agency provided detailed evidence to assist the independent coroner in reaching his conclusions." Spelthorne council declined to comment. Original article by By Tanya Gupta & Adrian Harms BBC News, Chertsey Thanks for the support you have given to the TruthAboutZane Campaign over the last decade, enabling Zane’s successful inclusion in political party Manifesto’s, as one of the greatest burning injustices of our time.
The truth is, little children should not die in homes infused with invisible odourless gas used to kill people in WWII gas chambers; Hydrogen Cyanide; Zyklon B. Then our authorities seek to ‘solve the problem of keeping people from finding out the truth’. A disgraceful stain on the UK exposing the systemic ability of those in power to protect themselves from being held to account. Zane was stripped of any voice by removing his Human Rights Act rights, and no one listened to us, until we were joined by you. Add the supporters list. Now we have the support of the UK’s largest unions FBU, TUC, Unison, Unite, CWU, NEU, etc, Hillsborough Law Now, and the 118,000 members of the public calling for an Inquiry https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/call-for-a-public-debate-into-the-death-of-7-year-old-zane?bucket=+via+%4038_degrees (https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/call-for-a-public-debate-into-the-death-of-7-year-old-zane?bucket=+via+%4038_degrees) You have all been Tremendous in highlighting this child state cover up to MPs at the highest political levels. National Incident Records, Freedom of Information, and honest decent professionals have placed the truth in plain sight, and shattered the false narrative pedalled across global media, that Zane died from CO poisoning; a substance, data, and facts, show was not even present, whilst the family had Hydrogen Cyanide; the deadly nerve agent detected in the house at Very High Levels, in their blood. Zane died and Authorities Lied. The truth was known on the day Zane was killed on the 8th February 2014. However huge amounts of public authority time and money have been use to misdirect the media, authorities, and public, hiding the truth, demonising, and scapegoating the victims, bludgeoning rights to truth. Our campaign continues to be grieving parents seeking a legacy of truth to make sure people understand what happened and prevent these known harms happening to others, according to the BMJ 80% of people in this country live within 2km of landfill. If you haven’t already, please join the campaign and help stop what happened to Zane happening to others. With your continued support we will achieve the legacy of truth Zane deserves. he family home of a seven-year-old boy who died when flood waters allegedly filled the property with toxic fumes a decade ago has been inundated again. Flooding has once more devastated the town of Chertsey in Surrey, with families evacuated from their houses and businesses forced to close. Locals complain that a flood relief scheme designed to protect nearby Windsor and south-west London has made the problem worse for them. Among the properties left underwater in Chertsey is the home where Zane Gbangbola died in February 2014. His parents Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler claim their son was killed after their house was 'infused' with hydrogen cyanide from a former landfill site during the previous floods. Zane's father was left paralysed from the waist down in the same incident and was found unconscious just six feet away from his son's body. Firefighters supported the couple's version of events after discovering the deadly nerve gas inside the property - but an inquest concluded that the schoolboy's death was due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Now, following the latest floods, posters calling for a fresh inquiry into the tragedy outside Zane's family home are suspended above knee-deep river water. The damage caused by Storm Henk is the worst the area has seen since 2014. Large swathes of England have been submerged in the past few days - but residents in this part of Surrey say the water damage is being exacerbated by the opening of floodgates intended to protect nearby Windsor and south-west London. They say the Jubilee River flood relief scheme, built in the late 1990s to alleviate flooding in neighbouring areas, has made the problem worse for towns like theirs downstream. Resident Emma Sayle said: 'Until Windsor stops being the priority when flooding starts and we are an afterthought, this will keep happening. 'Our house is now flooded on the Thames side. We only flooded because of the absolute s**t-show of river management upstream. If the clowns could stop running the circus, that would be great.' Local business owner Debbie Russell echoed Ms Sayle's concerns, explaining: 'In 2014 we had the army delivering sandbags, helping people evacuate their homes. 'This year, nothing. No sandbags. No help. The council just tell you to call 999. The Environmental Agency won't ring you back. There's sewage flowing through people's homes - it's a disgrace.' While residents of particularly hard-hit areas of the flooded town were evacuated from their homes on Tuesday morning, there was no sign of emergency services by mid-afternoon. One man living in a waterfront home said the only communication he had received about the flooding from officials was a warning email last Friday. Ben Spencer, the Tory MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, said: 'I know many residents are concerned about the possible impact the Jubilee River has had on local flood levels. 'This is an issue which has been raised to me a number of times, which I have raised directly with the Environment Agency, and they have assured me that the upstream flood alleviation measures do not increase flood risk locally. 'However, following these latest floods I believe there are a number of issues to be further looked into, including the dredging and maintenance of our rivers and waterways. 'I will be raising these on behalf of residents once the immediate flood risk has passed.' A spokesman for the Environmental Agency said: 'Our priority is to protect communities from the impact of flooding and flood defenses are not permitted if they increase the risk of flooding elsewhere. 'Extensive modelling and analysis has shown that the use of the Jubilee River gates has very little impact on water levels at downstream communities, including Windsor.' Original article here: READ MORE: Firefighters demand independent inquiry into death of seven-year-old boy killed by toxic fumes when his home flooded as they accused the Government of a cover-up WATCH BBC INTERVIEW WITH MOTHER: Imagine the unimaginable—losing your child to a highly poisonous gas while he's asleep in his home. This is the heart-wrenching reality that our guests, Zane Gbangbola's parents, Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler lived through. As we walk together through the series of events that led to this, we uncover a tale of environmental negligence, unaccountable authorities, and a fight for justice fuelled by Zane's parents' love. We shed light on the impact of widespread flooding in Surrey, the illegal landfill site neighbouring their home, and the tragic loss of seven-year-old Zane to hydrogen cyanide poisoning.
How far would you go for the truth? That's the question Zane's parents pose as they campaign tirelessly for a public inquiry into their son's death. The Hillsborough law, a tool potentially aiding their fight, comes into our discussion as we navigate through their journey. With support from prominent politicians like Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn, they're not just battling for justice for Zane, but raising awareness about secret landfill sites across the UK, hoping to prevent similar tragedies. This isn't just a conversation—it is a call to action, a wake-up call to the devastating effects of environmental hazards, and a plea for accountability. Zane Gbangbola: Government ‘asleep at wheel’ over coastal landfill erosion threat, says Labour1/1/2024 Over 1,000 coastal landfill sites are thought to be at risk of spilling toxic materials into the sea. Labour has accused the Government of being “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to coastal landfill sites facing erosion and flooding. Over 1,000 are thought to be at risk of spilling their toxic contents into the sea which could then damage ecosystems, wildlife or people. Waste is already spilling into the sea in 25 council districts, while repairing or moving landfill contents to safer areas is thought to cost millions of pounds. Thousands more sites are situated in flood plains away from the coast with many left unsealed because they were in use before strict regulation was introduced. One particular cluster in Chertsey is believed to have been responsible for causing terminal illnesses and the death of a seven-year-old boy, Zane Gbangbola. Years of investigation and campaigning by his parents has revealed the presence of a landfill next to their home thought to contain military waste from a nearby tank factory. Hydrogen cyanide, a toxic nerve agent, was found in their home hours after flood water ran past the landfill and into the family’s basement, which Kye Gbangbola, Zane’s father, said not only killed his son but left himself paralysed. He and Zane’s mother, Nicole Lawler, have been calling for an independent inquiry that would examine evidence excluded at the coroner’s inquest. The Government has so far declined any such inquiry. Labour has previously backed opening a new investigation and is now accusing the Government of being silent on what the Coastal Landfill Working Group describes as a “silent, ticking time bomb”. Emma Hardy, Labour’s minister for coastal communities, said: “The next pollution crisis is just round the corner – with a mountain of plastic and chemicals at risk of collapsing into the sea on an industrial scale. “Yet this Conservative Government is asleep at the wheel with absolutely no interest in tackling the problem. “The Government must immediately start working with local councils to tackle this growing threat. If they don’t, our beautiful seas and beaches will be buried under an avalanche of waste and toxic chemicals.” The party said it would establish a Flood Resilience Task Force that would meet every winter ahead of the extreme weather. It would co-ordinate preparation efforts for coastal erosion and flooding between central government, local authorities, communities and emergency services. The Government has been contacted for comment. Original article >> |
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