'Three times more' pollution-related deaths in London than thought

According to new statistics, the number of deaths occurring in London due to poor air quality is three times higher than previously predicted.

The Campaign for Clean Air in London (CCAL) has written to the British health secretary Alan Johnson, asking him to paint a clearer picture of the pollution-related death rate in the capital.

This move comes after a report from the European Environmental Agency suggested that the death rate in London due to dangerous airborne particles stood at 2,905 in 2005 - almost treble the 1,031 cited by the London Air Quality Strategy published in the same year.

In the letter, spokesman for the CCAL Simon Birkett asked: "Why have major public information campaigns been launched on alcohol abuse, obesity, road traffic accidents and smoking and not on poor air quality, when poor air quality is such a major killer?"

According to the department for environment, food and rural affairs, London mayor Boris Johnson's recent decision to suspend the third phase of the capital city's emissions reduction plan is putting air quality in the capital city in jeopardy.