The Crown star Olivia Colman appears in harrowing social housing film based on Awaab Ishak tragedy

The Crown star Olivia Colman has warned human rights in the UK are under threat as she appeared in a harrowing short film about the plight of a young mother whose baby died due to poor social housing conditions. The Amnesty International UK ambassador said human rights violations are 'happening right on our doorstep' as she backed the organisation's campaign highlighting the 'broken housing system'.

The death in December 2020 of Awaab Ishak, who suffered from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould at his housing association flat on Rochdale's Freehold estate sparked outrage and calls for change led by the Manchester Evening News.

It prompted the passage of Awaab's Law last year as part of the Social Housing Act, which requires landlords to fix reported hazards in social housing, such as mould, in a “timely fashion” or rehouse tenants in safe accommodation.

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Amnesty referred to a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for households in temporary accommodation, published in January last year, which said there had been 34 cases of children who died between April 2019 and the end of March 2022 where homelessness and temporary accommodation were recorded by an independent child death overview panel as factors that may have contributed to the child’s vulnerability, ill health or death.

Now the charity has launched the short film, Before Our Eyes, starring Colman alongside Hustle actor Adrian Lester and based on the real-life experiences of a mother who wanted to remain anonymous. It tells the story of Anna who watches on helplessly as her baby daughter Grace’s health deteriorates in the poor conditions of the temporary accommodation