Parents of boy who died in mouldy flat call for 'Awaab's law' as housing boss sacked

The parents of a boy who died from exposure to mould in a housing association property have called for a new law to be implemented in their son's name, insisting his "death must not be in vain."

- EMILY ATKINSON

 The call for new legislation from Awaab Ishak's family came just hours after the boss of the housing association who refused to resign over his death was removed from his post.

Under chief executive Gareth Swarbrick, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) received multiple complaints about mould from the parents of Awaab before he died from a respiratory condition in December 2020. A coroner ruled that the toddler's death was caused by prolonged exposure to mould in the flat where he lived with his mother Aisha Amin and father Faisal Abdhullah in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

Mr Swarbrick, who earned £170,000 in the year Awaab died, had insisted he would not stand down as leader of the housing association and the body's board initially backed him. But in a statement released yesterday, the RBH board said: "The board has taken the decision to remove Gareth Swarbrick from his post as chief executive of RBH with immediate effect. We will now work to appoint an external interim chief executive."