Ulez cars to Ukraine charity accused of ‘not functioning’

LONDONERS are driving their own cars to Ukraine amid accusations that Sadiq Khan is dragging his heels on the official Ulez scrappage donation scheme.

Mr Khan said in February that he would allow cars handed in under the London Ulez scrappage scheme to be donated to Ukraine, following intense public pressure.

Yet volunteers, who had been donating cars to Ukraine from before Mr Khan set up Transport for London’s official scheme, claim they have been left with no choice but to take matters into their own hands.

They accuse the charity running Mr Khan’s scheme of failing to clearly communicate with them and causing delays to the scheme.

A number of volunteers have spoken to The Telegraph about problems with British-ukrainian Aid (BUA), the charity Mr Khan appointed in February to partner with TFL to donate non-ulez-compliant cars to the Eastern European country.

James Baird, 53, a farmer from Littlehampton who is involved in separate, pre-existing efforts to donate British cars to Ukraine, accused BUA of having no proper process in place for coordinating donated cars and organising deliveries to Ukraine.

“I actually suspect there’s something going on behind these closed doors that I don’t understand,” he said, “because the scheme is not designed, not being administered, in a way that it can function.”

A TFL spokesman said that its scheme is intended to supplement, rather than replace, any existing volunteer donation networks, adding that UK charities cannot donate vehicles for military use.

“We chose British Aid to Ukraine (BUA) as a trusted intermediary following a recommendation from the Ukrainian Embassy based on similar initiatives the charity has worked on,” said the spokesman.

“BUA has already processed a number of vehicles for which successful applications have been made through the scrappage scheme and they will shortly be delivered in bulk.”

Sadiq Khan’s representatives and British-ukrainian Aid were contacted for comment.