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Ella’s family argued there was sufficient evidence to conclude there were failures by the state to take steps to protect the public from dangerous levels of air pollution, which amounted to a violation of article 2 of the Human Rights Act, concerning the right to life.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the coroner’s conclusion was a “landmark moment” and called pollution a “public health crisis”.
“Today must be a turning point so that other families do not have to suffer the same heartbreak as Ella’s family. Toxic air pollution is a public health crisis, especially for our children, and the inquest underlined yet again the importance of pushing ahead with bold policies such as expanding the ultra low emission zone to inner London.”
“Ministers and the previous mayor have acted too slowly in the past, but they must now learn the lessons from the coroner’s ruling and do much more to tackle the deadly scourge of air pollution in London and across the country.”
A government spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with Ella’s family and friends.
“We are delivering a £3.8bn plan to clean up transport and tackle NO2 pollution, and going further in protecting communities from air pollution, particularly PM2.5 pollution, which we know is particularly harmful to people’s health. Through our landmark environment bill, we are also setting ambitious new air-quality targets, with a primary focus on reducing public health impacts.”
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