An unprecedented legal case on behalf of people with asthma may see the UK government paying out a significant amount of compensation for failing to act on air pollution levels.

Frances Lawson, the barrister who is leading the class action, said the legal team were looking to bring a state liability claim against the UK government on the basis that it is in breach of an EU directive.

“The fact that the UK is in breach of the air quality directive is well established. We believe we can show that people in polluted areas like London are suffering from the symptoms of asthma in part because of excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air they are forced to breathe,” she said in an interview with the British press.

“The public has had seven years of excuses from government while the medical evidence about the health impacts of air pollution strengthens all the time,” she added.