'We want justice': Family's heartbreak after Heathrow grandad's asbestos death
The grieving family of a dedicated Heathrow Security guard who died of a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos are urging anyone who worked at the airport to come forward with information.
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Tom Longhurst worked as a security guard at Heathrow Airport for more than 30 years and was considered “part of the family” at work, his daughters said.
The father of three started at Europe’s busiest airport in the mid-1980s, before eventually retiring in 2016.
But just a few years into his retirement in October 2021, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an incurable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
He died just a matter of months later aged 73 in February 2022, and his family want both an acknowledgement and accountability after years of searching for answers.
His daughter Frances, who was six months pregnant at the time of her father’s death, told LBC “He kept saying to me that he was going to hold out to meet his grandson… That never happened”.
She tells her one-year-old Archie that their grandad is “up in the sky”, keen to ensure he is “still a part of all of their lives”.
Tom only met one of his four grandchildren, Jack, his other grandchildren Sophia Zachary and Archie are often told stories about his life.
Both Frances, and his other daughter Lucy, are pleading for people to come forwards with information to get justice, not just for their dad, but for anyone who might have faced similar circumstances at Heathrow.
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They told LBC that there should be some “accountability” after their fathers’ “undignified and painful” death.
Every year 2,500 people in the UK die from Mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos.
As we sit outside enjoying the sunshine in Lucy’s garden the conversation is understandably tinged with sadness, regret and frustration at the lack of answers.
Having worked at Heathrow Terminal 3 during most of his career at the airport, his family believe that Mr Longhurst may have come into contact with asbestos due to maintenance and construction work taking place.
“We believe that the exposure was from the airport”, Frances says.
The family are now working with industrial disease specialists Leigh Day to explore whether their father could have been working near asbestos materials.
Leigh Day want to speak to anyone who worked in Heathrow Terminal 3 between 1985 and 2016 who can recall construction works going on and may have seen asbestos being distributed or removed.
Mr Longhurst was a popular member of staff at the airport. The West Ham fan was even selected in 2012 to carry the Olympic torch and was involved in the Heathrow football team. His daughter Frances said that “He was a very active man and Heathrow was his life”.
“We were so naive. We didn't know anything about asbestos being in Heathrow. There [were] no red flags. The only red flag we got was when he got terminal cancer and that's that”, his daughter Lucy told LBC.
She added, “the last few months weren’t really quality time, we were just trying to process the news and pick up the pieces”.
Lucy explained the awfulness of her father’s condition, explaining that his “undignified, painful and excruciating way to pass” saw him initially lose his appetite before he eventually couldn’t lift his limbs due to how swollen they were, with his “vital organs drowning in their own body fluid”.
Whilst Frances depicted the difficulty the family faced with their fathers’ condition, such as “having to put drops of water on a sponge and squeeze it into his mouth” as he was dehydrated after being unable to drink water.
They admitted that they were “completely unaware” of any form of asbestos-related cancer, and are angry that they were robbed of crucial and precious time with their dad.
Lucy brought her wedding forwards to ensure her dad could be there.
She recalls telling a nurse “I think I'm gonna get married next year, just so dad can make it. And she [the nurse] went, ‘no, now’. And I went, ‘oh, okay. How long are you talking next month?’ She went, ‘week or two’”.
When Tom questioned why her daughter was rushing her wedding, she didn’t have the heart to tell him and made up an “elaborate lie” that the reason was that her son was about to start school.
The family need people to come forward that worked at Heathrow between the years that Tom Longhurst worked there, whether directly employed by Heathrow, or a subcontractor or tradesman.
Lucy explains that “we know that other people have been affected at the years at the same time that my dad's worked at the airport. And we just need people to talk, really, and to come forward”.
She continues that the aim is to “hold Heathrow accountable and to get some sort of acknowledgement… some accountability from them”, as she despaired at the “lack of communication” from the airport in response to their wishes.
It was in April 2023 that Leigh Day were instructed by Tom’s family, and in November 2024 Heathrow were notified of that claim. The family wants the airport to do more.
Louisa Saville, a partner at Leigh Day, told LBC “We are continuing to investigate how Tom was exposed to asbestos”.
"During his time working at Heathrow, the airport underwent huge programmes of upgrades and maintenance, especially in the late 1980s”.
She reiterated appeals from the family that "any pieces of information from Tom's former colleagues, however small, could prove vital in providing answers for his family”.
A Heathrow spokesperson told LBC “Our deepest condolences go out to our former colleague's loved ones. Health and safety is Heathrow's top priority. While we do not comment on individual cases, we investigate each and every claim fully."