Public Health England documents confirm LETHAL HYDROGEN CYANIDE GAS WAS DETECTED IN HOME OF BOY, 7,17/9/2021
2 Comments
Investigations at a former landfill site behind a house where a seven-year-old boy died are to take place as soon as possible, councillors have said.
Zane Gbangbola died during floods in 2014 - his parents say he was killed by hydrogen cyanide washed out of the tip. Now Spelthorne council's environment and sustainability committee has voted to take action at the site in Chertsey. Committee chairman Ian Beardsmore said tests had not been carried out and it was "the right thing to do". An inquest ruled Zane's death was an accident caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from a petrol pump brought in by his family to get rid of floodwater. However, his parents Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler always disputed the findings and said the pump was never in use. Mr Gbangbola, who was paralysed in the incident, and Ms Lawler have now obtained Public Health England (PHE) papers backing their claims. The papers, released to the family under a Freedom of Information request, include one document stating: "The house had three generators (1 x petrol, not operating, and 2 electric 1 of which was operating) in basement." The document also said fire service testing detected no carbon monoxide. A further note said firefighters confirmed "three hits" in the property for "hydrogen cyanide". It said long-term exposure to the gas could cause cardiac arrest, adding: "The property has been flooded for the last 6-7 weeks with the family continuing to live in it - the [redaction] has been trying to pump out the basement and garden and the son has been in the flood water and garden." Mr Gbangbola has told the BBC that his son never lived in the flooded areas of the home and only the basement was flooded. He said: "All habitable areas were dry and clean." 'Tests must be independent'Circulating the documents to the committee, Mr Beardsmore called for a report before 9 November stating how the authority would act in examining the site. He said: "This is not ifs, buts or maybe, but how and when." He said it needed to be decided whether action could be taken under emergency planning, contaminated land or health and safety legislation. The committee voted unanimously in favour of action, but Mr Gbangbola said afterwards: "The tests must be comprehensive and done independently." He also appealed to anyone with information to contact the BBC, adding: "Just do the right thing and tell the truth as you would expect others to do had your child been killed." PHE said its staff, including the Porton Down-based Emergency Response Department, supported the 2013-14 flood response, and it later provided written evidence to the inquest. It said Dr John Thompson from the PHE-commissioned National Poisons Information Service gave his expert opinion. A spokesman for the coroner said: "An independent, full, frank and fearless inquest into the death of Zane Gbangbola was concluded in September 2016. "The coroner's detailed explanation of his findings and conclusion has been available since the end of the inquest." Mr Gbangbola said PHE were not present at the inquest, but "totally absent". He called for an explanation from the coroner. Original BBC article by Tanya Gupta
Boris Johnson is facing calls to order a public inquiry into the death of a schoolboy after the release of official documents sparked claims of a cover-up. The files reveal that lethal hydrogen cyanide gas was detected in the home of seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died from toxic fumes seven years ago after his family’s home in Chertsey, Surrey, was flooded. His parents insist he was killed by the deadly gas, which had seeped from toxic waste dumped in a former landfill site nearby. But in 2016, a coroner ruled the boy had been poisoned by carbon monoxide from a petrol-powered pump used to clear floodwater. Now, The Mail on Sunday has obtained more than 100 pages of emails and an incident log written by Public Health England officials. These reveal that hydrogen cyanide was detected three times in the house by firefighters using specialist gas-testing equipment – but no carbon monoxide was found – and that the pump blamed for the tragedy was not even used. They also show that despite the cyanide readings, senior officials briefed the media that Zane’s death was the result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Public health officials were warned not to mention hydrogen cyanide as a potential cause. Pleading with the Prime Minister to intervene, Zane’s parents, Kye and Nicole, last night said: ‘We believe the authorities lied pretty much from the moment that we lost our son. ‘That is why we call on Boris Johnson to do the decent thing and open an independent panel inquiry so we can finally get to the truth and get justice for Zane.’ A petition launched by the couple has attracted 110,000 signatures, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is backing their campaign. Sir Keir said: ‘I fully support their campaign for an independent panel inquiry to finally get to the truth about Zane’s tragic death.’ Pressure for an inquiry increased last year when a retired Ministry of Defence engineer told the BBC that military contractors dumped chemical waste in gravel pits close to the family’s home. It also emerged that experts from the top-secret Porton Down defence laboratory rushed to the scene. The documents obtained by the MoS – which were not disclosed to the coroner – provide fresh detail about what happened after Zane’s mother found him at their riverside home on February 8, 2014. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital; his father was paralysed. The cause was determined as exposure to cyanide. An entry on the PHE incident log at 9.49am reveals that the fire service had ‘positively identified HCN (hydrogen cyanide) gas on three occasions at the property’, adding that ‘continuous exposure to HCN builds up in the blood and can produce cardiac arrest type symptoms’ and that Zane and his parents ‘may have had extended exposure to the low levels of HCN over a period of weeks’. By 7.24pm, public health officials were being encouraged to focus on carbon monoxide poisoning. But an internal update from the Surrey Police Gold Commander 40 minutes later makes clear that cyanide had been detected and the petrol pump had not been in use. PHE denied it had come under pressure to focus on carbon monoxide as the cause of Zane’s death. It added that its experts had provided evidence and documents to the coroner and that an expert from the PHE-commissioned National Poisons Information Service had also appeared at the inquest. A spokesman for Richard Travers, the Surrey Coroner, said the six-week inquest had been ‘independent, full, frank and fearless’ and that ‘a substantial amount of evidence including that from in excess of 70 witnesses’ had been heard. Original article here >> Listen to Zane's mum on LBC with Tom swarbrick A Sky News investigation found there are 34 Acid Tar Lagoons officially recorded by councils across the UK thee could be more than 150, BUT OUR GOVERNMENT HAS A RECORD OF ONLY TWO. Acid Tar Lagoons are extremely hazardous, corrosive swamps made up of unmanaged dumped mess from oil refineries largely in the 1960s and '70s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRtxlmL5d7o  Zane's daddy will be speaking alongside the ‘Dark Waters’ US lawyer who took on chemical giant DuPont is speaking at Surrey's new Big Green Festival this week. As portrayed in the 2019 film where he is played by Mark Ruffalo, Rob Bilott started out as a lawyer defending chemical companies. But he ended up described by the New York Times as "the lawyer who became DuPont's worst nightmare", after exposing the corporation for a decades-long history of chemical pollution. He is joined on a Global water crisis panel on Saturday by Kye Gbangbola, who lost his seven-year-old son Zane and suffered paralysis caused by hydrogen cyanide after his Chertsey home was flooded in 2014. Also speaking on the 7pm panel is BBC investigative journalist Leana Hosea, who directed the award-winning film Thirst for Justice. Book your place here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-big-green-festival-2021-tickets-152087829793?fbclid=IwAR319ZyXiuLv62Kc5cSQ9qYMU588Dbgh4UO4HODfjuyx8vE4hHaib7ddZk4   We would like to say a VERY big thank you for all your support for Zane & TruthAboutZane in 2020. Please keep building on your support for Zane in 2021, we need it, we appreciate it, so this hideous episode in history is recognised for the truth that happened to our precious boy.
This pandemic has forced us to witness life in a very unusual way. Trains and flights that were not even suspended during the two world wars have been ‘kept on hold’ and countries were forced to go into a lockdown. We have seen some amazing acts of bravery and strength. The NHS and Keyworkers keeping the country going and saving lives so we can stay home and stay safe. Going out of your house for a leisurely walk, to campaign, to socialise or to work at our own convenience did not figure as something substantial earlier. These current times, however, have made the four walls of our houses visible and tangible. The world has shrunk to the boundaries of our homes. The idea of roaming around freely does not feel ‘normal’ anymore. Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives to Covid-19 including Kye’s father. To those who have lost loved ones, our sincere condolences go out to you, as do our prayers and thoughts. Of course, for Kye and myself our lives were changed in 2014 when Zane was killed in his home and Kye paralysed. Our life became tiny and our world imploded. Many aspects of our lives ended as we learned to live forever broken hearted. 2020 has been difficult as the very home we have had to lockdown in, as Kye shielded, is the headstone of our son’s death. It has been difficult to escape the trauma within these four walls albeit now protected with gasproof membranes, it remains full of loss. Despite all of this, 2020 did not stop us in our fight for Zane, for the truthaboutzane and for the prevention of future deaths. Here is what we have done but not inclusive:
Fourteen activities in 2020, one for every year that Zane will have been here had he not been killed. There are lots of ways you can help Zane get truth including pre order his book ‘TruthAboutZane’, due out early 2021; the first 2000 people to pre order will receive a special limited edition hard backed copy with their name in it. Zane's book sales have slowed down during this lockdown and we have had to cancel many events where sales could have been made. In order to get Zane's book printed we need 2000 sales to fund the costs of publishing and printing. We have some way to go and hoped that we could call on you, our supporters, to ask if you could please buy a copy or if already done so, pass the link to friends and family and ask they purchase the book. We would also ask if maybe, you would consider donating together the book across the line and enable Zane's voice to be heard. We want to get the book printed before the end of the year. Every penny goes to the cost of the print. To purchase the book: http://www.truthaboutzane.com/book.html To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/truthaboutzane-book-fund?pc=pd_personal_url&rcid=r01-157160229203-e9ed7addd4354ff9 Kye and I would like to thank all supporters from the bottom of our hearts. Stay safe! Zane’s Mummy  A council that demanded an inquiry into the death of a seven-year-old boy during floods in Surrey has been told by the government his parents should take their own legal action. Spelthorne council had asked for a full inquiry into Zane Gbangbola's death. Zane's parents say he was killed by hydrogen cyanide gas washed out of a former dump behind their home. An inquest ruled he died from carbon monoxide from a petrol-powered pump used to clear floodwater in the house. Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler have said the pump was not in use. Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) minister Rebecca Pow replied to Spelthorne council's request and wrote: "If Zane's parents believe that there is new evidence available, they should consider making an application to the Attorney General asking her to apply to the High Court to quash the inquest and order a fresh coroner investigation."  She said Zane's parents should seek their own independent, legal advice, adding: "I believe that this remains the proper process to follow in this case."
Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy said: "Telling Zane's parents it is up to them to take yet more action, after all they have sacrificed in the seven years since their son's tragic death, is a gross insult. "The government should take responsibility for finally allowing the truth to be uncovered. "There is crucial and compelling evidence, which was unavailable to the coroner, that must now be considered by experts in an independent panel inquiry." Spelthorne councillor Ian Beardsmore, who proposed the council's action, said he was "deeply disappointed". In a statement, Zane's parents said: "It is simply wrong to deny a child killed in these circumstances a proper investigation. "This is an effort to continue to kick Zane's case into the long grass. Justice delayed is justice denied." BBC Article here>>  Some of this countries greatest speakers for justice gathered to urge the government to return human rights to a child killed and systematically stripped of his rights to a full and fearless investigation of what caused his death. Emotional plea’s were made by David Lammy MP; Shadow Justice Secretary, Matt Wrack; FBU General Secretary, Baroness Bennett former Leader of the Green Party, the great Criminologist Professor Phil Scraton Lead Researcher on Hillsborough, and a powerful statement from Sir Keir Starmer Leader of the Labour Party. Richard Burgon MP former Shadow Justice Secretary said how honoured he was to come and speak for Zane, and Zane’s Headmaster spoke unforgettably of the boy he knew, returning Zane to sight for the more than 2000 online viewers. This was a rare tour de force of online protest and call for justice, reinforcing the call of our great Unions, the FBU, CWU, NEU, PCS, Unison, Unite, TUC, and uniting the voice of the people with nearly 110,000 people signing Zane’s petition demanding justice as called for by Parliament in a hard hitting Early Day Motion led by Jess Phillips. Many shed tears at the address given by Zane’s mum, had she not have raised the alarm that fatal night many could have died and the secret landfill will have remained covered up to local people. The speakers can be heard at the FBU website https://www.facebook.com/393147247543766/videos/791776781390217 There are lots of ways you can help Zane get truth including pre order his book ‘TruthAboutZane’, due out early next year; the first 2000 people to pre order will receive a special limited edition hard backed copy with their name in it. Or, donate to Zane’s Gofundme, to help fund the books publication, go to www.truthaboutzane.com The family of Zane would like to thank all our supporters from the bottom of our hearts. BBC Radio Surrey - Note Governments announcement the day Zane died despite the detection of ONLY Hydrogen Cyanide >>  I am proud to announce that the Fire Brigade Union are hosting a memorial for Zane. There is something you can do to give a loud clear message of support. Join us on what should have been Zane's 14th birthday to remember him and demand justice. http://bit.ly/justiceforzane Please sign up and share
|
Legal Aid Agency refuse
3 times to grant family legal aid for inquest 
TAZArchives
September 2021
Categories |
RSS Feed