AT LAST! After more than a century of dissembling, downright lies and cover-ups, the government has admitted that asbestos is too dangerous to be left in schools and public buildings. It must all be removed and cannot be safely managed in situ.

With around 40,000 schools and educational premises, and with government research stating that an estimated 80 per cent contain the deadly asbestos, we know this is a massive task. 

One of the people who has led this fight is Sir Stephen Timms MP who, in 2022 as the chair of the all-party parliamentary work and pensions committee, called for all asbestos to be removed from educational buildings within 40 years, starting with the most dangerous first. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) chief executive Sarah Albon, speaking to the work and pensions committee on February 5 2025, said: “I think there is an absolute agreement between us and Sir Stephen Timms, as our responsible minister, that ultimately we need to work towards a place where asbestos is fully removed from the UK environment.” 

As the National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “For decades there has been no acknowledgement by either HSE or government that removal of asbestos should be the goal. The ambition to remove it entirely from all public buildings is very welcome.

“This is only a start, and there is a long way to go. We need to see a timeframe and much firmer commitments. Most schools still contain asbestos and every day that passes means that children and staff remain at risk of developing asbestos-related disease.”

This danger is underlined in Dr Gill Reed’s report, What is the Real Risk of Asbestos in Schools? as a previous article in the Morning Star revealed. She outlines how an investigation by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1980 found that, as school buildings were ageing and deteriorating due to lack of funding for repairs and upgrades, the risk of developing mesothelioma cancer, particularly for children, had greatly increased. This is mirrored in Britain.

When the Raac scandal was uncovered in 2023, with 150 schools having to be partially or totally closed due to danger of collapse, it was something that had been known to be a risk since the 1990s. It caused a big furore. But as Bob Groome, NEU health and safety officer for Norfolk, has said: “How many deaths from Raac so far — zero. Deaths from asbestos in the UK — approximately half a million so far.”

The campaign to remove asbestos from public buildings, particularly schools and hospitals, is growing. It has been taken up by the Sunday Times and the Daily Mail, which are conducting specific campaigns for its removal. 

The Mirror has also done good work on this. Steve Boggan, an investigative reporter, has done great work in bringing the shocking facts into the public eye. We are writing to the editors of all the other national newspapers urging them to join the campaign. 

The BBC has also been broadcasting a series about the dangers and secrecy surrounding asbestos. 

“A hush-hush factory opening. No photographs allowed. A story of cover-ups, corporate espionage, fightbacks — and death…” This is the introduction to the first episode of Assume Nothing: Killer Dust, a 10-part series made for BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Ulster. 

The story leads us from mountains of asbestos in mines still operating in countries today, to the skyscrapers of Manhattan and the terraced streets of the north of England. It is the story, too, of the people who fought and died for the truth in order to expose the reckless pursuit of profit in the making of one of the most dangerous building materials on the planet. The series is available on BBC Sounds.

How can we countenance this wholesale slaughter of the innocents carrying on into the next century? This is urgent. We must unite all who can be united.  

The next objective is to raise a united storm to demand that the phased process starts now. We might not know when it will be finished, but we can know when it starts. 

Two quotes seem appropriate: “Make it so,” from Star Trek and “A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step,” from the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu in the 5th century. 

To this end Dr Gill Reed and I have independently organised a meeting, Building Support for Removal of All Asbestos from Schools. All are invited. It is on Friday April 4 from 4pm to 6.30pm at Suite 5&6 at Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD. 

This meeting is aimed at rejuvenating and promoting the campaign for the total removal of asbestos from educational buildings, starting with the most dangerous first. 

Invited are: 
• Campaign groups which demand the removal of asbestos from public buildings, 
• Union health and safety reps and officers, 
• Solicitors involved in asbestos legal campaigns, 
• Individuals who have been affected by the death of loved ones from mesothelioma,
• Journalists who are publicising this mesothelioma cancer scourge, 
• and anyone who wants to join the active campaign to get asbestos removed from educational premises and other public buildings.  

Key participants confirmed: Michael Lees MBE, Harminder Bains, Leigh Day Solicitors, Gill Reed, author of What is the Real Risk from Asbestos in Schools?, Barbara Hadley, author of Asbestos — the Future Risk, Steve Boggan, investigative journalist, author of exposés in Sunday Times and Daily Mail, David Ellis OBE, chair Asbestos Victims Support Group Forum, Liz Darlison, CEO Mesothelioma UK, Charles Pickles, founder of Airtight on Asbestos, Kevin Courtney, former NEU general secretary, John Richards, managing director Thames Laboratories, Mark Morrin, ResPublica and Airtight on Asbestos. 

Please spread the word and RSVP, or for access queries, to hankr@hotmail.com.

Hank Roberts is an asbestos campaigner.