Stephen Topping

After breaking the story of Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old boy who died after breathing in mould in his family's social flat, and the shocking conditions other families were facing on the same estate, Stephen Topping has focused much of his work on the poor housing standards in Greater Manchester. He also led the Manchester Evening News' work on the successful Awaab's Law campaign, which led to legislation being changed this year. Greater Manchester has a severe housing shortage, with thousands of people on waiting lists for homes, while the standard of accommodation is poor in many areas.

Awaab's inquest unearthed shocking inaction from social landlords Rochdale Boroughwide Housing. It also revealed shameful discriminatory attitudes and practices among staff, which placed Awaab's family at a disadvantage. The coroners' court heard workers made assumptions about the family's bathing habits due to their religion and background, but they never spoke to them about it. Awaab's family called this out as racism in a speech made following the inquest.

Stephen explored the issue of racism in the Awaab case in detail. He pored over the relevant evidence in the case, looked into the inequalities faced by people of ethnic minority backgrounds in Britain's housing, and spoke to people from Rochdale's diverse community about how Awaab's family were cruelly wronged. Following his work on the Awaab story, dozens of families came forward to Stephen to discuss their stories of damp, mould and disrepair in social housing. Stephen also went out onto a number of estates, speaking to tenants about their experiences. One of the most complained about housing providers in the region is Jigsaw Homes.

Stephen spoke to families on estates run by the housing trust, who feared their children could be harmed in the same way Awaab was. Stephen strived to give underrepresented communities a voice in this story, with vulnerable social housing tenants and families from a diverse range of communities who previously struggled to have their voices heard by housing associations trusting Stephen to tell their stories. They spoke of their fear, and their exhaustion of being repeatedly ignored by the housing system. Earlier this year, the tragic case of Luke Brooks came before Rochdale Coroners' Court. A post-mortem suggested he could be the region's second person to have died after breathing in toxic mould from his home, which was rented from a private landlord. Stephen struck up a relationship with the family, who shared their story with him first. He also spoke to other tenants who rented from the same landlord ahead of the inquest.

When the inquest took place, an expert witness found a different type of mould led to Luke's death than the type which grows inside houses, and which had harmed Awaab. However, the inquest heard shocking evidence of dilapidation in the home, and the grim realities of too many people's living conditions in 21st century Britain. The family later spoke out to Stephen in a tell-all interview.