By Jonathan Bartley Green Party co-leader - read original article in Huffington Post 
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It is heartbreaking for a parent to lose a child. It is also heartbreaking when the cause of a child’s death remains covered up, when parents who have already suffered so much are trod on by a system designed to protect institutions, not people, and when the evidence points everywhere except towards the verdict the coroner actually reached.

The Truth About Zane campaign aims to uncover the real cause of death of seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola. Zane died on February 8, 2014 after his home in Chertsey, Surrey was flooded. His parents have reams of evidence suggesting he was killed by hydrogen cyanide carried by floodwater from a nearby landfill site, but have faced an extraordinary battle with authorities to prove this.

The Green Party is joining the call for an independent panel inquiry into Zane’s death, as the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill was presented to parliament 29 March 2017.

Dubbed the ‘Hillsborough Law’, the bill would require public bodies and individuals to carry out their work in the public interest and assist courts, official inquiries and investigations. Parity of funding would also be provided for victims and their relatives for inquests and inquiries.

When Zane died his parents, Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler, were also hospitalised in critical condition. Kye is now a paraplegic as a result of exposure to the gas and uses a wheelchair.

Hydrogen cyanide was detected by the fire and rescue teams who arrived on the scene but Zane’s body was not tested for the gas, which disappears after 48 hours. In 2016, the coroner ruled Zane’s death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty petrol pump used to clear floodwater from the house - a pump which was never in fact used.

I met Kye and Nicole earlier this month and I was struck by their determination and resilience in terrible circumstances. They’ve shown enormous courage to continue fighting for justice in the face of a huge bureaucratic machine and vested interests weighted against them.

But when I first sat down with them, before we discussed the harrowing journey they’ve been on since that terrible day in 2014, they told me about Zane - a smiling seven-year-old who loved cars and excelled at school. They have an immovable resolve that the humanity of Zane and his personality, his likes and dislikes, are at the centre of this story.

Kye and Nicole were denied legal aid because the probe into Zane’s death was not in “the public interest”, despite more than 30,000 people signing a petition to call for an investigation.

It’s crucial there’s a level playing field for families seeking answers about their loved ones’ deaths. For Zane’s parents, the Hillsborough Law would have meant they would have been given legal aid instead of having to crowdfund. The authorities investigating would be loyal only to the truth, not the institutions involved.

What kind of country do we live in when reputation management is deemed more important than a young boy’s life, and the opportunity to prevent others dying in the same way?

It would have been simple for Kye and Nicole to accept the coroner’s verdict of carbon monoxide poisoning. Not easy I’m sure, but simple, to fall in behind the finger of blame pointing towards the pump hire company for giving them a faulty petrol pump and failing to provide proper safety instructions.

But Kye and Nicole maintain they never bought any petrol for the pump, and it was never switched on except to briefly test if it was working. The house ran solely on electric power and only electric water pumps were in use. Their quest for the truth goes on.

It’s not for me to decide what happened that night. But I believe there is enough conflicting evidence for the verdict reached by the coroner to be thrown into question.

If we put aside for a moment the human side to this tragedy, the loss and injustice at the heart of this story, the implications of Zane’s death are enormous. Not just for his family, but potentially for everyone who lives near a landfill site. Many of these sites are unrecorded, so there are people who won’t even know if they do or not.

In Zane’s case, the Environment Agency knew about the risk from the landfill site at least four years before his death. When building a cabin next door to Zane’s house in 2010, the agency installed a gas-proof membrane to protect the property and people inside. But at no point did the EA warn Zane’s family or their neighbours.

Climate change is an ever growing threat, and while we are constantly working to mitigate the risks, significant challenges remain. Last year was the hottest year on record and extreme weather events, like the severe flooding where Zane lost his life, are on the rise.

It is a matter of when, not if, another unregulated landfill site is flooded. Hydrogen cyanide is not an innocuous substance. It can be difficult to detect and kills rapidly.

The authorities involved in this investigation must be held accountable. We must make sure the truth emerges, for Zane himself, for Kye and Nicole, and for every single person in the UK living next to a landfill site, whether they know it or not. A tragedy like this must never happen again.

Bill will rebalance the legal system by giving bereaved families equal funding at inquests
 
It will require police and public servants to be open and truthful in legal proceedings or face imprisonment
 
Deliberate attempts to mislead the media also made a criminal offence
 
In Parliament, Andy Burnham will ask Rt Revd Bishop James Jones appointed by Theresa May to report on the experience of the Hillsborough families, to adopt the Bill's proposals
 
A Bill paving the way for the fundamental rebalancing of the legal and coronial system in favour of ordinary families has been presented to Parliament today.
 
The Public Authorities (Accountability) Bill - or "Hillsborough Law" - seeks to prevent any other bereaved families going through the same experience as the Hillsborough families and experiencing a similar miscarriage of justice.
 
It has been proposed by all the Hillsborough families and is supported by a range of high-profile justice campaigns, many people in the legal profession and MPs from all parties, including Tim Farron, Caroline Lucas and Sir Peter Bottomley.

Andy Burnham spoke passionately about Zane's case saying "Zane Gbangbola was a boy of seven who died following a flood in his home in Surrey that occurred as part of the national floods in 2014. His parents, Kye and Nicole, strongly believe that the problem was caused by contaminated landfill. Scientists from Porton Down were called on site. The case was even discussed at Cobra. Despite that, the family were denied legal aid. They arrived at Zane’s inquest to find themselves up against a phalanx of top QCs and left feeling as though they had been put on trial. They are still fighting for answers today as to what happened to their child."

In a joint press release Andy went on to say "The Hillsborough families fought for 27 years for an inquest verdict of unlawful killing for the 96 Liverpool fans who died at Hillsborough, Sheffield in 1989. At the original inquest, while the police had top lawyers paid for from the public purse, the families had to raise money to pay legal costs.
 
Sadly, many bereaved families are still going through the same experience today and cuts to legal aid are making the problem worse. 
 
Andy Burnham will cite examples in the Commons of families who have recently been denied legal funding and who have been made to feel as if they have been put on trial by aggressive lawyers acting for public bodies.
 
The Bill seeks to correct this and provide for equality of funding for bereaved families at inquests and other inquiries with police and public bodies.
 
“The struggle of the Hillsborough families exposes the unfairness of a legal system where the odds are stacked against ordinary people seeking truth and justice for their loved-ones.
 
“Never again should families face financial ruin and have to fight like the Hillsborough families have had to fight,” said Burnham.
 
The Bill also requires all public bodies and individuals to carry out their functions in the public interest, including assisting courts, official inquiries and investigations. It creates new offences for the breach of these duties.
 
In Parliament, Burnham said that hopes that Hillsborough would mark a change in the way the State deals with families fighting for justice have so far proved unfounded. He cited the initial refusal of legal aid to families fighting for loved-ones killed in the Birmingham pub bombings, the result of an inquiry into Orgreave and the unfair treatment of people who have suffered from the contaminated blood scandal as evidence that things have not changed. 
 
"Hillsborough must mark a moment of real change when Parliament rebalances the police and criminal justice system and puts more power in the hands of ordinary people. It’s time to end a system that allows public bodies to have endless resources while ordinary families have to scratch around for whatever they can get,” said Burnham.

Mike Jackson, Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, said: “The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign welcomes the ‘Hillsborough Law’ Bill which has secured cross-party support.
 
“This Bill will redress the unjust, historic imbalance between victims of the state and the state itself in regards to legal costs.
 
“It will also require public institutions, public servants and officials to act with candour and frankness or risk criminal proceedings.
 
“The events at Orgreave on 18th June 1984 and the subsequent cover-ups by the state would have been exposed and justly dealt with long ago if this legislation had been in place.”
 
Nicole Lawler and Kye Gbangbola, from the ‘Truth About Zane’ campaign, said: “Hillsborough abuses continues today with TruthAboutZane 
 
“What kind of country do we live in when reputation management is deemed more important than a young boy’s life, and the opportunity to prevent others dying in the same way?
 
“The bill will change the dynamics to securing truth in controversial cases.” 
 
J4the21 campaign for truth justice and accountability for those killed in the BPB74 welcomed the bill:
 
“We urge both cross party support and support from both Houses. The Bill is a tool for accountability when public authorities fail in their duties to those they should protect. The Bill addresses the inequality of resources between victims and relatives seeking redress when confronted with the might of the state. It should become law as soon as possible for individuals, families and communities to rely upon when public authorities fail them. It should also strengthen the will of those tasked with investigating both individual and systemic failings which can have devastating effects on ordinary lives.”
 
Deborah Coles, Director of the charity INQUEST which supports bereaved people following state related deaths said: 

“INQUEST sees first-hand the institutional culture of defensiveness following state related deaths, as well as the inherent inequality of arms and resources for bereaved people compared to the unlimited resources available to public authorities.
“Hopefully, the learning from the Hillsborough inquests will be a catalyst for legal and cultural change and imbalance once and for all, so public bodies in all state-related deaths are required to act openly and honestly from the outset of investigations and at inquests to ensure their focus is on reducing the risks of similar deaths in future. Any justice system must ensure equal access to justice – otherwise, the state remains unaccountable.”

Public Authority (Accountability) - Hansard online 

The Green Party has joined calls for an independent panel inquiry into the death of seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died in 2014 after his home in Surrey was flooded.
Zane’s family believes he was killed by hydrogen cyanide carried by floodwater from a nearby landfill site, despite the coroner ruling his death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
The family was denied legal aid and is now supporting the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, dubbed the ‘Hillsborough Law’ [1], which will be presented to parliament tomorrow, on March 29.
Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party co-leader, is co-sponsoring the bill.
Zane’s parents Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler are requesting an independent panel of inquiry, as in the Hillsborough inquest, to review all documentation around Zane’s death. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition [2] to support their call.
Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, met Kye and Nicole earlier this month.
Bartley said:
“I was struck by Kye and Nicole’s determination and resilience in terrible circumstances. They’ve shown enormous courage to continue fighting for justice in the face of a huge bureaucratic machine and vested interests weighted against them.
“I fully support their call for an inquiry and tomorrow we’ll take an important step forward with this bill reaching parliament. It’s crucial there’s a level playing field for families seeking answers about their loved ones’ deaths.
“The implications of Zane’s death are enormous, not just for his family, but potentially for everyone who lives near a landfill site, particularly as many of these sites are unrecorded. The authorities involved in the investigation must be accountable so we can make sure the truth emerges and that a tragedy like this never happens again.”
Notes:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/08/hillsborough-law-launched-to-ensure-officials-act-with-candour
2. https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/call-for-a-public-debate-into-the-death-of-7-year-old-zane?bucket=+via+%4038_degrees
3. More information about the campaigns are available at www.greenparty.org.uk and http://www.thehillsboroughlaw.com/.

The parents of 7 year old Zane Gbangbola, who died after his home was flooded in 2014, are continuing their quest for answers today

A coroner ruled that he died from carbon monoxide poisoning after a generator was used by the family to remove floodwater from the property.

But Zane’s parents Kye and Nicole, claim their son died after poisonous gases from a nearby landfill site infiltrated their home, something the authorities have denied. 

Surrey County Council Labour candidate Fiona Dent says it doesn’t add up.

​In response to a request for information from MP Kwasi Kwarteng, the Environment Agency replied "As the landowner, Brett Aggregates Limited will under the Health and Safety Act 1974 have a duty to ensure health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees. You will need to contact them directly in regard to any instructions they have given their contractors." 

The landowner told Mr Kwarteng; "We can assure you that no gas masks were worn."

They are racing to raise funds to protect a section of rainforest in Malaysian Borneo, saving it from being cut down to make way for oil palm plantations and safeguarding a wealth of threatened wildlife found there, such as Proboscis Monkey, Bornean Pygmy Elephant, the Bornean Orang-utan and Sunda Pangolin (the latter both classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List). Donations to sponsor Steve and Helen can be made here. If everyone did their part to help the environment and make the world a better place, the cumulative impact is significant. Toxic cases such as Zane's, of landfill killing precious children as they sleep, must never happen again.