‘Hare-brained clean air plan will expose people to more pollution’
SADIQ Khan’s attempts to get drivers to use public transport instead could expose people to more pollution, it has been claimed.
FromAugust 29 London’s Mayor is extending the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to all outer London boroughs. Older cars that fail emissions standards will face a £12.50 daily charge if used in the enlarged zone.
But Reform UK mayoral candidate Howard Cox said the expansion will not only fail to achieve its green aims, but could expose Mr Khan to a multi-billion pound law suit.
Pledging to ditch Ulez entirely,
Mr Cox, founder of lobbying group FairFuelUK, said: “I have measured the level of [particulate matter] on the Underground and it’s between 14 and 18 times worse than street level.
“It means [Mr Khan] has now exposed himself potentially to a class action by everyone who uses the
Tube for literally billions of pounds.” He said the current mayor’s “hare-brained strategy” was based on emotion not fact.
City Hall-backed research has blamed 4,100 deaths in 2019 in London on air pollution. It said: “Environmental factors that affect health like air pollution are not routinely included on death certificates for individuals, just as smoking is not routinely included on death certificates as a contributory factor for deaths from lung cancer or heart disease.”
The Ulez expansion also faces a court challenge by outer London’s Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, as well as Surrey.
Mr Cox added: “The pea soupers are long gone, and the air in London – and the UK, according to the WHO – is among the cleanest.”