'You deserved better': Mayor makes apology to Ella's mother, 11 years on

SADIQ KHAN today made a “full and unqualified apology” to the mother of a nine-year-old London girl who died because she lived near roads with illegal levels of toxic air.

- Ross Lydall

At an event at City Hall, the Mayor said sorry to Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah for the loss of her daughter Ella in 2013.

Despite not being mayor at the time, he said the Greater London Authority and Transport for London should have acted sooner to tackle pollution.

Ella, who died on February 15, 2013 from an asthma attack, was the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on her death certificate.

Mr Khan, whose decision to introduce and expand the Ulez clean air zone was inspired by her death, said: “As the Mayor of London, I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a full and unqualified apology for not acting sooner to tackle air pollution, which ultimately led to the tragic death of Ella AdooKissi-Debrah.