A fresh inquest will be held into the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, who suffered a fatal asthma attack believed to have been linked to air pollution near her home in south London.
Ella Kissi-Debrah died in February 2013 following three years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for asthma attacks.
Her mother, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, applied to the court for a fresh inquest after new evidence came to light regarding air pollution levels close to their home.
In a statement after the ruling, she said: “I am absolutely delighted by today’s ruling and look forward to finally getting the truth about Ella’s death.
“The past six years of not knowing why my beautiful, bright and bubbly daughter died has been difficult for me and my family, but I hope the new inquest will answer whether air pollution took her away from us.
“If it is proved that pollution killed Ella then the Government will be forced to sit up and take notice that this hidden but deadly killer is cutting short our children’s lives.”
Jocelyn Cockburn, partner at law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, who represents Kissi-Debrah, said: “We are pleased that we have been granted a new inquest for Ella so we can find out if her death was avoidable and if air pollution contributed to her death.
“A new inquest will also mean the Government and other public bodies will have to answer difficult questions about why they have ignored the overwhelming evidence about the detrimental health impact of air pollution and allowed illegal levels to persist for more than a decade.
“There is now momentum for change and it is fundamental that air pollution is brought down to within lawful limits.”
Giving the go-ahead for a new inquest, Judge Mark Lucraft QC, sitting with two other judge, said: “In our judgment, the discovery of new evidence makes it necessary in the interests of justice that a fresh inquest be held.”