The Government have announced that non-statutory inquiry into the death of seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola is to be established, more than 12 years after he died during flooding at his family home in Surrey.
A non-statutory inquiry is an investigation set up by the government without using specific legal powers granted by Parliament. It is generally quicker and more flexible than a statutory inquiry but has fewer powers.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds announced today (13th July) that the inquiry will examine the circumstances surrounding Zane’s death in Chertsey in February 2014, as well as how public services worked together during the emergency and the treatment of his family in the years that followed.
The Government said the Prime Minister and Defra ministers had met with Zane’s parents, Nicole Lawler and Kye Gbangbola, to hear their concerns and discuss what they hoped the inquiry would achieve.
Dr Sandie Okoro OBE, a lawyer and public leader, has been appointed to chair the inquiry independently and will have access to technical and subject matter experts. Ministers have also pledged to respond publicly to any recommendations it makes.
The announcement follows years of campaigning by Zane’s parents, who have consistently challenged the official conclusion that their son died from carbon monoxide poisoning after floodwater entered the family’s Victorian home.
The couple believe Zane was exposed to hydrogen cyanide released from contaminated land behind the property after floodwater disturbed the site. They have argued that emergency responders detected traces of the toxic gas on the night of the incident and have long called for a full independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Kye Gbangbola himself was left seriously ill with an extreme skin reaction following the incident. After about 12 hours he began to loose sensation in his legs. After 24 hours he had lost all feeling in them. However, it wasn’t until months later that one doctor diagnosed rhabdomyolsis, caused by hydrogen cyanide poisoning.
Speaking to Air Quality News’ Emily Whitehouse, Kye explained: ‘After the accident an inquiry was launched where some of my neighbours said the fire brigade woke them up and told them they had detected traces of hydrogen cyanide.
‘However, on the night of the incident an emergency COBRA meeting was called, where the government issued a statement claiming Zane died from carbon monoxide poisoning from an old petrol pump that was used to clear some of the water that had flooded our basement.’
Public health documents later confirmed that firefighters found hydrogen cyanide traces their home.
Alongside their campaign for an inquiry, Zane’s parents have spent the past decade promoting Zane’s Law, a proposed piece of legislation aimed at improving transparency around contaminated land.
The proposals would require councils and the Environment Agency to maintain publicly accessible registers of potentially contaminated sites, carry out regular inspections and make information about risks available to local residents. The campaign also calls for criminal penalties where known risks to public safety are deliberately withheld.
Campaigners say the measures would help protect communities built on or near former landfill sites. According to Kye Gbangbola, around 80% of people in the UK live within two kilometres of a landfill site, many without knowing it.
Several councils have already backed the principles of Zane’s Law, while trade unions including the Fire Brigades Union have also expressed support for an independent inquiry.
Welcoming today’s announcement, Nicole and Kye said: ‘We have campaigned tirelessly for truth since Zane’s death, and welcome the keeping of Sir Keir’s promise of justice for seven-year-old Zane. The death of a child should never be political.
‘We will never win, Zane will never win, he has been taken from us, but today we pray that this is a step closer to exposing the lies that dishonour our precious son, securing the truth, and preventing further deaths.’
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