Taking the fight to Westminster on 13 February (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Paul Couchman, Staines Socialist Party
Parents, friends and supporters gathered outside Zane Gbangbola’s home on 8 February, the fifth anniversary of the seven-year-old’s tragic death during the terrible Thames flooding of 2014.
Campaigners hold firm to the fact that Zane was killed by hydrogen cyanide, probably pushed up from landfill during the floods. Three separate sweeps by Surrey Fire Service detected it on the night Zane died.
The commemoration was an emotional and moving event celebrating Zane’s life by candlelight, with music and video, photos projected onto Zane’s family home – and fireworks, which Zane loved.
The newly formed Truth About Zane committee took the fight for truth and justice to Westminster on 13 February.
Speakers included Lee Belsten, secretary of Surrey Fire Brigades Union, and the Socialist Party’s Chris Baugh, assistant general secretary of civil service union PCS.
Local Tory MP Kwazi Kwarteng hosted the meeting. But he made it clear he would not challenge the coroner’s verdict.
Like Hillsborough, the campaign for truth and justice for Zane is proving to be a long haul. But his still-grieving parents have been joined by trade unions, the Socialist Party and others, calling for an independent panel inquiry.
