Britain’s Hidden Killer
2025The Daily Mail launched a powerful new campaign to expose the UK’s toxic asbestos legacy and demand urgent action to protect public health. Branded “Britain’s Hidden Killer,” the campaign highlights the widespread presence of asbestos in everyday environments – from schools and hospitals to homes and even the Houses of Parliament.
An estimated 1.5 million buildings across the UK still contain asbestos. Despite being banned more than two decades ago, the material continues to pose a grave threat, killing at least 5,000 people every year. It remains the UK’s leading cause of workplace-related deaths.
The campaign calls for comprehensive reform, beginning with the creation of a national online database listing every non-domestic building that contains asbestos. It also urges the government to develop a National Asbestos Strategy – one that delivers a whole-of-society solution to a crisis that has been allowed to persist for far too long.
The Mail reported that the “call was backed by unions and campaigners yesterday, as ministers and officials met to discuss the problem and what can be done to tackle it. It is understood the Mail’s campaign was spoken about during the meeting in Westminster, in an indication that the issue has been raised at the highest level.”
The campaign has already prompted a response from the highest levels of government. As the Mail reported, the Prime Minister has acknowledged the scale of the problem, backing the Daily Mail’s campaign.
The Mail continues to report on the issue. In June 2025, an investigation by the Daily Mail “found deaths from exposure to asbestos in all the major supermarket chains, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons – a state of affairs that they and others, including the shopworkers union, seem disappointingly reluctant to discuss.”
Steve Boggan and the Mail’s editorial team have been widely praised for their in-depth coverage and commitment to change. Their reporting has been welcomed by asbestos victims, families, and campaigners across the UK, who see the campaign as a long-overdue reckoning with a national scandal.
The Mail’s campaign also calls for the establishment of a national digital register – accessed by smartphone – to record where the material is and its condition. This would help to combat the accidental release of fibres in store renovations and other refurbishments.
"Recently, the Daily Mail, as part of its ongoing campaign, revealed an asbestos ticking time bomb in our supermarkets. I am not being alarmist when I say that the investigative work undertaken by journalist Steve Boggan makes it clear that asbestos is all around us, including in this building."
Emma Lewell MP, during a parliamentary debate