PM: I’LL PROTECT DIESEL DRIVERS
May’s pledge as motorists face bill for dash-for-diesel blunder of government’s top scientist
THERESA MAY last night said she would protect diesel car owners who were conned into buying the polluting vehicles.
The Prime Minister stepped in as diesel owners face a nightmare of increased congestion charges, hikes in road tax and poor resale values. Last night their anger intensified when Tony Blair’s former chief scientist admit- ted officials knew how dangerous diesel engines were but did nothing about it.
In a stunning admission, Sir David King said scientists were aware that diesel was a ‘dirty’ fuel which belched out more dangerous fumes than petrol engines. But he claimed he was convinced by car manufacturers that they were developing technology which could ‘manage the problem’. It resulted in climate change-obsessed ministers and civil servants offering tax incentives to encourage millions of motorists to switch to diesel vehicles.
One furious MP said it was clear the public had been ‘mis-sold on diesel’. But as London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced plans to charge diesel drivers £24 a day to enter the centre of the capital, Mrs May said people who had bought the vehicles in good faith should not be punished.
Speaking during a trip to the Middle East, the Prime Minister said the Government had no choice but to tighten
air pollution rules after it lost a High Court case last year. But she indicated ministers would step back from a plan to impose a £20-a-day ‘toxin tax’ on drivers of older diesels entering city centres.
Her comments piled pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to consider funding a ‘scrappage scheme’ that would compensate owners of older diesels who agree to buy a new, cleaner car.
Mrs May said: ‘We will be producing a new air quality plan – we’ve been required to do that by the courts. But I’m very conscious of the fact that past governments have encouraged people to buy diesel cars and we need to take that into account.’
MPs welcomed the comments, which raised hopes that the Government had not ruled out a scrappage scheme that would offer diesel drivers tax incentives to trade in their cars for cleaner alternatives, such as hybrids and electric vehicles. The row erupted as Sir David admitted convincing Mr Blair that diesel engines were much better for the environment than petrol engines because they emit less carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
Sir David’s advice helped convince then Chancellor Gordon Brown to introduce tax changes in 2001 to encourage people to switch to diesel cars, triggering a boom in sales. There are now almost 12 million diesel cars on the roads. But scientists have since performed a U-turn and warned that diesel cars emit more dangerous nitrogen oxides and sooty particulates, which can cause respiratory disease.
Sir David justified his flawed advice by saying the focus in the early 2000s was on reducing carbon emissions, and admitted he was aware of warnings – including from the Government’s own medical advisers in 1999 – that diesel engines produced more dangerous fumes. Sir David, who was the Government’s special representative for climate change until last month, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think we, as it turns out, were wrong.’
But, in an extraordinary attempt to justify his advice, he suggested he was hoodwinked by car manufacturers over the efficacy of their new catalytic converters to reduce emissions
Charlie Elphicke, a Tory MP who sits on the Commons public accounts committee, said: ‘This looks like an incredible admission that millions of drivers were mis-sold on diesel. We’ve already seen sales of diesels slump – there is now a real danger resale values will drop too.
‘It’s wrong that people who thought they were doing the right thing now face losing personal wealth as a result.’
Howard Cox, of campaign group FairFuelUK, said: ‘I’m delighted the Prime Minister is receptive to the concerns of
millions of hard-working diesel drivers who are being unjustly demonised.’
But yesterday Mr khan announced plans to charge millions of motorists £24 a day just to use diesel cars in the centre of London. Owners of diesel cars made before 2015 will be hit with a £12.50 daily charge to use their vehicle anywhere between the north Circular and South Circular roads from 2021. The levy will also apply to petrol cars registered before 2006. This is on top of the current £11.50 congestion charge.
Councils across the country are considering similar measures, but Mrs May’s comments suggest ministers will be ordered to adopt a less aggressive approach.
Government sources last night insisted a tough new plan to tackle air pollution was inevitable after last year’s court ruling, but they distanced themselves from the idea of a £20-a-day charge – and left the door open to introducing a scrappage scheme.