THE MOTHER of a nine-year-old killed by air pollution says it’s a race issue, amid political tension over the extension of London’s clean air zone.

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, whose daughter Ella died of severe asthma in 2013 caused by dirty air, said Black voices are not being heard over the issue.

London mayor Sadiq Khan faces a crucial court decision next week over his plans to extend the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) to outer London.

Conservatives have seized on suburban objections by making ULEZ a political dividing line in the upcoming Uxbridge byelection caused by the resignation as MP of the former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Tories are also planning to make opposition to ULEZ a key plank of next years’ mayoral election in the capital.

Five outer London Tory councils are challenging the mayor in court, hoping to stop Khan’s flagship policy.

A study by the University of St Andrews found that the Black community suffer higher rates of air pollution, which have been linked to coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. 

Adoo-Kissi-Debrah told The Voice it was sad that “politics have hijacked clean air”, adding: “Black and brown people in London are disproportionately affected and the data shows that those that don’t own a car are bearing the burden, but their voices are not being heard.

“I’m talking about the person standing at the bus stop right now on the South Circular; their voices are literally nowhere because, guess what? They don’t own cars.

“If you’re in Bromley, what you’re basically saying to me is you should be able to drive down here in your dirty vehicle and you don’t really care about the people that live round here.

“No, I’m sorry, not for me, that’s not acceptable.”

Nationally, 40 percent of Black people do not own a car, compared to 17 percent of white people, according to government figures.

The most ethnically-diverse neighbourhoods have the worst air pollution, while residents in areas with the least pollution also have the best job security and wealth.

Researchers also found a correlation between living in social housing and breathing traffic exhaust, while a previous City Hall study revealed that concentrations of dangerous nitrogen dioxide were between 16 and 27 per cent higher in areas with most Black and Asian Londoners.

Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s daughter Ella was the first person to have air pollution cited as a cause of death, and her mum has been campaigning for a Clean Air Act ever since.

She said: “A doctor told me yesterday that 70 percent and lung cancer is down to air pollution.

“When you also look at the data in London when it comes to illnesses like stroke, diabetes, and heart attacks, we are more impacted and those are linked to air pollution.

“If we have poor health that means we can’t get good jobs. So we need to join up the dots. I think we need to be very loud about it.”

ULEZ opponents have dubbed the court day next Tuesday “independence day”, with Orpington Tory MP Gareth Bacon accusing Khan of “tyranny.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Poor air quality is not just a public health issue but a matter of social justice.

“Evidence shows that thousands of Londoners are dying prematurely from long-term exposure to air pollution every year with toxic air impacting us from birth through to old age. 

“That these effects fall disproportionately on those from Black and Asian communities is even more of an injustice.

“The Mayor has been clear that the decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide was not an easy one, but necessary to tackle toxic air pollution and the climate crisis.  “Expanding the ULEZ London-wide will enable five million more Londoners to breathe cleaner air.”