A cross-party group of MPs will be reintroducing a Bill that makes breathing clean air a human right into Parliament at the start of July. ‘Ella’s Law’ is named in memory of Ella Adoo Kissi-Debrah whose death was the first in England to be officially attributed to air pollution.
Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Siân Berry, so far backed by cross-party Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP and Independent MPs, will present the new Bill to the House of Commons with a ten minute speech on Tuesday 1 July.
The proposals in the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill enshrine the human right to breathe clean air into UK law and would require the Government to achieve clean air throughout England by 1 January 2030, setting out a pathway to bring the country in line with World Health Organisation air pollution guidelines.
Ella’s mother Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah CBE has long campaigned for the Government to introduce stricter air pollution limits since her daughter died of severe asthma aged just nine caused by air pollution primarily from emissions on the south circular road close to where they lived in London.
This week, campaigners, health professionals, local authorities and schools across the country will mark Clean Air Day on Thursday 19 June, along with its 2025 theme of ‘Health’ to highlight the physical impacts of what is widely considered the biggest environmental threat to human health worldwide. In the UK, toxic air pollution is estimated to cause between 29,000 and 43,000 premature deaths every year.
In 2022, a similar version of Ella’s law was steered through the House of Lords by Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb. It was later sponsored by Caroline Lucas MP in the House of Commons until Parliament was dissolved for the 2024 general election.
Siân Berry hopes that with support from the influential Labour, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru and Conservative MPs supporting the Bill, it will build up a critical mass of public and parliamentary support during this Parliament and be picked up by the Government in the next King’s Speech. Key supporters of the Bill to date are:
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
- Stella Creasy MP
- Wera Hobhouse MP
- Shockat Adam MP
- Ellie Chowns MP
- Seamus Logan MP
- Afzal Khan MP
- Ruth Jones MP
Siân Berry, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:
“Clean air is a human right, and it is time the law recognised this. Deaths like Ella’s, and the millions of lives blighted by preventable diseases caused by air pollution, can be a thing of the past if Governments start taking the right action now.
“Rosamund’s campaign is gaining momentum and communities across the country are raising air pollution as a key problem in their local area, so it is great to have representatives from all parties joining together to press for a legal right to breathe clean air.
“Finally passing Ella’s Law will save lives, as it will make sure we get new targets, and the funding for local areas to achieve them by cutting down on the many causes of toxic pollution, from road traffic to wood burning.
“I look forward to presenting the Bill in Parliament and I hope to work with more and more MPs joining together to pass Ella’s Law and protect generations to come.”
Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah CBE said:
“I am delighted Siân and the cross-section of MPs are taking forward Ella’s Law in parliament. Tackling air pollution should not be a partisan issue, it affects us all, in every constituency in the country. I believe that everyone has a right to breathe clean air, no matter where they live, the colour of their skin or their socio-economic background. We know that air pollution affects most people in this country, but the harshest effects are felt by poorer and marginalised communities. I hope this Labour Government will therefore take forward this Bill to protect all children and adults from the devastating effects of breathing toxic air. There is no more time to waste. We all have a human right to health and saving lives must always be the Government’s top priority.”
Sarah Sleet, Chief Executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said:
“The proposed Clean Air Bill is an important step towards making everyone’s right to breathe clean air a reality. Air pollution causes tens of thousands of preventable deaths every year. These early deaths represent a failure of government to act as current policies and targets do not do enough to protect public health.
“Toxic air has a detrimental impact on the millions of people living with a lung condition in the UK – with four out of five telling us that it makes their breathing difficulties worse.
“We need action now to protect the public’s lungs. Asthma + Lung UK backs Ella’s Law and Rosamund’s campaign to enshrine the right to clean air in law. We hope MPs from across the House will back the Bill and prevent more people from losing their lives by simply breathing in the air around them.”
ENDS
Notes:
- The Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill will be introduced to the House of Commons by Siân Berry MP as a ‘Ten Minute Rule Bill’ on Tuesday 1 July.
- For further information on Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah’s campaigning, please visit the Ella Roberta Foundation website: https://www.ellaroberta.org/
- In the UK, toxic air pollution is estimated to cause between 29,000 and 43,000 premature deaths every year: https://laqm.defra.gov.uk/air-quality/guidance/public-health/#:~:text=Overview,smoking%20or%20road%20traffic%20accidents.
- Asthma + Lung UK’s Life with a Lung Condition survey 2025:
| Does air pollution make your breathing difficulties worse? | Number of respondents | Percentage of respondents |
| Yes | 7079 | 79.2% |
| No | 2359 | 21.8% |
| Total | 9438 | 100% |