Exclusive: Launders Lane Shame: Havering Campaigner Takes Toxic Landfill Battle To Parliament As Andrew Rosindell MP Steps In Calling For Cross Party Action Now To Resolve This.

‘It’s a total disgrace what has gone on at Launders Lane and it needs to be sorted out. The Mayor of London does nothing, Havering Council need to up their game, and the Government must intervene..”–Andrew Rosindell MP

A long-standing environmental scandal in Rainham reached Westminster as a Havering campaigner demanded action over the toxic landfill site in Launders Lane.

Yesterday, June 11, local campaigner Ruth Kettle-Frisby stood in the Houses of Parliament to speak out on the ongoing public health crisis surrounding the toxic landfill site at Launders Lane in Rainham.

Ruth, a tireless voice for Havering residents, joined forces with the team behind Zane’s Law, the campaign launched by grieving parents Kye and Nicole Gbangbola. Their seven-year-old son, Zane, tragically died in 2014 during flooding in Chertsey when water contaminated with hydrogen cyanide—detected three times by Surrey Fire and Rescue HAZMAT—entered their home from a nearby unregulated landfill.

The summit on contaminated land and water marked a major milestone for campaigners nationwide. Local councils across the UK are now passing motions in support of Zane’s Law, demanding urgent legislative change to protect communities from toxic exposure. Havering Council has so far not supported this motion and has also deemed the land at Launders Lane as ‘not contaminated land.’

Ruth, who has spent years battling on behalf of Rainham residents, has taken Havering Council to court to challenge their controversial decision that the Launders Lane site is “not contaminated.” Her efforts, supported by the Launders Lane Steering Group, come after countless complaints from residents about foul-smelling fumes, unexplained health conditions, a believed increase in COPD, lung cancer and breast cancer. Children cannot play outside in the garden and many residents have resorted to wearing masks inside their own homes to deal with the choking fumes.

At Westminster, Ruth was joined by Romford MP Andrew Rosindell, who—despite Launders Lane falling outside his constituency—has pledged his support for affected residents. He attended alongside representatives from Margaret Mullane’s office and issued a passionate call for all three Havering MPs to unite across party lines and tackle the issue head-on.

Speaking exclusively to The Havering Daily, Mr Rosindell said:

“I attended the summit today despite it not being my constituency, but I am aware of the catastrophe that is Launders Lane and I care about the whole of Havering despite being the MP for Romford. It is a disgrace what has gone on there. The Mayor of London does nothing, Havering Council need to up their game and the government need to intervene. We have these landfill sites across the country that are incredibly dangerous. I’ve heard today about Zane and his tragic death and we do not want this ever happening again.

“I have learnt a lot today about Zane’s Law and understand why this is so important and i urge all the authorities of all parties as this has to be cross party, to get this resolved. At the moment we have a part of our borough which is dangerous. and it needs to be urgently cleared. That will not happen unless the authorities in power, government, Mayor of London and Havering Council up their game.

“I am calling now for a cross party working group to resolve this nightmare urgently. Our residents must come first. And if the local MP does not take the lead on this, I will.”

The time for words has passed—residents want action. After twenty years of living with choking fumes every summer, residents are now rightly demanding this situation be resolved.

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