Did UK officials collude with test rigging?

BRITISh officials have been accused of lobbying to keep outmoded methods for measuring carbon emissions as part of car tests.

The UK, France and Germany asked the european Commission to keep loopholes that it is claimed could lead to carbon dioxide emissions being 14 per cent higher than found in tests.

In a letter written in May, the Department for Transport said when new testing standards are introduced in 2017 car makers should still be allowed to externally charge their batteries to the full before the test as they can now.

environmental campaigners have claimed that this means the cars pump out fewer emissions in the trials compared to when driven normally on the roads.

Green activists said that the Government had been lobbying behind the scenes to rig the CO2 emissions tests.

But the Department for Transport said this was ‘a complete distortion’. A spokesman added: ‘The UK has been at the forefront of action at a european level to introduce real-world driving emissions tests.

‘The DfT’s work on CO2 emissions is to ensure accurate comparisons are possible between results under the current testing regime and the new World Light-duty Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

‘This will allow Britain and other european states to better determine whether vehicle manufactur- ers are meeting their CO2 emissions targets.’ The new testing regime for CO2 emissions is due to be brought in from 2017 so that test results better reflect real driving.

Julie Girling, Conservative environment spokesman in the european Parliament, said last night: ‘Over the last decade, the eU Commission and the industry have known that on the road, in real driving conditions, vehicles do not perform as the tests suggest they would. Can that really remain the status quo?’

Labour MeP Seb Dance added: ‘We already know that the current testing procedure for cars in the eU is deeply flawed and is being manipulated by car manufacturers. It is essential we restore credibility to eU policy making.’