The family of a man who was crushed to death in a freak accident fear they may never find out what caused the pop-up urinal he was working on to drop suddenly.
Maintenance engineer Kevin Holding, 60, was killed when working in Soho on 27 January 2023. His inquest heard it took two hours for a crane to arrive to lift the urinal off him.
His daughter Karlie Holding, 37, said the lack of answers about how he came to be crushed was “disgusting” and “disrespectful”. She told BBC London: “The family as a whole just hasn’t been the same at all: we’re a very broken family.”
Det Ch Insp Dean Purvis from the Met Police, which is still investigating the death, apologised to the Holdings.
A post-mortem examination gave Mr Holding’s cause of death as compression asphyxia [@KetoCancerQueen via X]
He said: “We are sorry for the impact this is having on everyone in Mr Holding’s family.”
Pop-up loos were introduced in central London in 2002 to discourage street urination. During the day, they are stored below the pavement and at night they rise hydraulically.
Karlie, from Sevenoaks in Kent, added that Mr Holding’s parents, both in their 80s, had been “knocked for six”.
She said of her grandparents, who are both in their 80s: “One of their biggest fears is that they’ll never find out before they pass.
“We haven’t got closure, we haven’t been able to mourn properly, close that chapter and live our lives in memory of Dad and build our family back up.
“We’re still in this grey zone where we have no idea what happened, how he lost his life, so we can’t put that to rest.”
Mr Holding, from Beckenham in south-east London, became trapped underneath the telescopic urinal, which dropped on him while he was working on the device, his inquest was told.
It heard how the emergency services reached the toilet Mr Holding was working on at about 13:05 GMT but could not free him.
The work he was doing was being carried out on behalf of Westminster City Council, which expressed “its deepest sympathies for Kevin Holding’s family and friends”.
It took more than two hours for a crane to arrive at the scene, at the junction between Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road [PA Media]
A Health and Safety Executive spokesperson said in a statement: “We are assisting the Metropolitan Police investigation into this incident.”
Det Ch Insp Purvis added: “This is a complex case and it has taken time to receive the interim expert report from the Health and Safety Executive.”
In response, Ms Holding said: “I’m not surprised that they’re buck-passing.
“Do your job. Remember you’re dealing with someone’s family. Give us the respect we deserve. We want actions now.”
Mr Holding’s family fear his file is “sitting on a table gathering dust” [Holding family]
Ms Holding said: “I genuinely believe because he’s passed away, they keep forgetting my dad’s case.
“It’s not like we’re even getting a timeframe – I think it’s disgusting.”
As for the impact on the wider family, she added: “Our lives have been on hold – we haven’t done anything.
“We’re just coasting. It’s horrible.”
The Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus as it looks today [BBC]
This time last year, the Met Police admitted it had “not provided the family with the support they would expect during the past year”.
The family told BBC London that the Met had since appointed a family liaison officer.
Det Ch Insp Purvis said: “We have carefully considered the [HSE report’s] content and are awaiting some final advice before we decide on the next steps.
“We acknowledge this investigation has been ongoing for a long time.”
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