Johnny Santer, whose 15-year-old son Gabriel died after falling from a Liverpool multi-storey car park in 2020, has welcomed the return of his Bill to Parliament. The Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill, known as Gabe's Law, aims to raise rooftop barriers from 1.1m to 2.7m and require 24-hour on-site security.
Bill's journey
The Bill was first introduced in the House of Commons in 2023 and again in 2025, but ran out of parliamentary time. It has now been reintroduced by Liverpool Garston MP Maria Eagle and is listed for its second reading on Friday, September 4.
Broader campaign
Three other families whose relatives died or were seriously injured after falls from car parks are also involved. They are appealing to the government to deliver its promised call for evidence on building regulations around perimeter guarding and fall prevention.
In an open letter to Merseyside Police, local MPs and Liverpool City Council, the families request the findings of an inspection of multi-storey car parks in the city, ordered after a unanimous council motion in January 2023.
Quotes
Maria Eagle said: “The changes proposed in the Bill will be an important step to making multi-storey car parks safer and ensuring lessons are learned to help prevent future tragedies.”
Johnny Santer said: “We welcome Maria’s re-introduction of the Bill to Parliament and encourage others to support the Bill when it is brought back to the chamber in early September.” He added that since 2020 there have been at least eight preventable deaths in Liverpool from car park falls, with one inquest finding a car park non-compliant with building regulations, leading to a Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Secretary of State responded by referencing a forthcoming call for evidence.
