Khan: Tories do not care about health of children

SADIQ KHAN has accused London Conservatives of not caring about children’s lungs in a row over Ulez expansion at City Hall yesterday.

In a heated Mayor’s Questions Time, Mr Khan caused dismay when he suggested that the Conservatives’ opposition to expansion of the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone was tantamount to not caring about children, while also claiming Tory members were “in the pockets” of vested interest groups.

When asked by Krupesh Hirani, a Labour member, whether London’s children deserved to grow up with stunted lungs, Mr Khan said: “I’m quite clear with the language I use, Conservatives of the assembly obviously do not care about these children.”

He repeated the accusation later in

‘I’m quite clear with the language I use, Tories obviously do not care about these children’

his answer, saying that Conservatives did not care about children developing permanently stunted lungs, or the premature deaths in the city caused by air pollution.

The comments were condemned by the opposition, with Emma Best saying she would not sit by and let the mayor make accusations about Conservative members.

Mr Khan was responding to questions around claims he interfered with the consultation process before the decision to expand Ulez to outer London.

On Monday, The Daily Telegraph reported on claims Mr Khan manipulated a vote on Ulez by excluding thousands of votes opposing the expansion. Last week, councils revealed that they would challenge the decision by the mayor, with the Liberal Democrat-run Sutton council pledging to block the installation of cameras in the borough.