Toddler’s Death Sparks Fight for Tougher Button Battery Safety
Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Jo Gideon is furious over delays in tightening button battery safety rules—even after little Harper-Lee Fanthorpe’s tragic death in 2021. The toddler swallowed batteries from a remote control, sparking urgent calls to prevent similar accidents.
MP Jo Gideon Teams Up with Grieving Family
Jo Gideon has joined forces with Harper-Lee’s family to push for stricter safety guidelines. She insists simple measures, like securely screwing batteries into devices, could save lives.
Button batteries are in everyday gadgets—watches, toys, kitchen scales—but current safety advice is voluntary, leaving kids vulnerable to serious injury or worse.
How Harper-Lee’s Death Unveiled Hidden Dangers
In May 2021, just two-year-old Harper-Lee was rushed to Royal Stoke University Hospital after vomiting blood at home. An inquest revealed life-threatening damage caused by acid leaking from the swallowed battery that burned through her food pipe into a major artery.
New Foundation and Working Groups Drive Change
Determined to turn tragedy into action, Jo Gideon and Harper-Lee’s mum Stacey founded the Harper-Lee Foundation. They’re working with the government to improve safety laws.
- Five working groups tackle issues like consumer awareness, data tracking, tech innovations, enforcement, and industry rules.
- Toy safety standards will soon include new button battery info by November.
But Gideon demands wider rules covering all battery-powered devices, not just toys. “We need legislation, or at least a change so safety standards aren’t voluntary anymore,” she says. “That way, we can prosecute firms ignoring the rules and give Trading Standards real teeth.”
Data Backs Urgent Call for Action
The British Paediatric Surveillance Unit’s hospital admissions survey provides crucial evidence for tougher regulations, says Jo Gideon—a vital weapon in the fight to protect children from hidden hazards.
