Poor air quality 'could cause 35,000 premature deaths in UK'

UK environment minister Jim Fitzpatrick has said that dangerously poor air quality could be causing the premature deaths of 35,000 people in the country each year.

The figure, which Mr Fitzpatrick used while giving evidence to the House of Commons environment audit committee, is significantly higher than the 24,000 premature deaths previously estimated by the government, the Guardian reports.

According to the newspaper, the committee of MPs was also told that air pollution could now be costing the country between £7 billion and £20 billion a year.

Mr Fitzpatrick insisted that the government remains committed to improving air quality.

He added: "There is no safe level for air pollution. We have to reduce the exposure of the whole population."

Meanwhile, Simon Birkett of the Campaign for Clean Air in London described the lack of action on air quality levels as "one of the biggest public health failings by a government in modern history".

London has one of the worst air quality records in Europe and the European Commission refused to grant extra time for the UK capital to meet air pollution targets in December 2009.

Posted by Joseph Hutton