London Mayor Sadiq Khan believes it is not “appropriate” to reveal the cost of the security personnel hired to defend London’s controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) because doing so “risks encouraging those intent on carrying out … criminal activity.”
This evasive claim—which follows a 100-word ULEZ sales pitch ignoring a very direct question on the scheme’s cost—likely indicates such high security costs that they are seen as capable of provoking “criminal activity”.
Vandalism of ULEZ cameras is widely publicised, including one supposedly destroyed using an IED. In turn, Mayor Khan is reported to have hired “masked heavies” who specialise in “intimidating and scaring locals” to protect the controversial equipment.
ULEZ, which was introduced by former Prime Minister and then-London Mayor Boris Johnson in 2015, and later expanded by Khan, is one component of Britain’s drive to net zero. Drivers with cars that don’t comply with certain emission standards must pay a daily £12.50 (€14.40) charge or face fines of up to £180 (€207). Drivers—both British and non-British—of higher-polluting heavy goods vehicles in London’s low emission zone can also face fines of up to £3,000 (€3,450).
The furious response to the scheme’s expansion saw London’s Metropolitan Police record 220 ULEZ cameras stolen and 767 damaged from April to October this year. Some of the security guards hired by the mayor at an unknown cost to protect this infrastructure wear masks, have facial tattoos and sport clothes adorned with skulls, The Daily Mail revealed.
By taking this hardline approach, the hapless Khan invites comparison with his own response to London’s horrific crime statistics. Knife and gun crime are both surging due to gang warfare, newspapers report, with at least 16 teenagers to date killed in violent circumstances in the city this year. Little wonder the mayor picked up the title, “The Poster Boy For Broken Britain.”
ULEZ may now be in even further trouble, with Dutch lawyers saying it has issued millions of pounds’ worth of unlawful fines to European lorry firms. They say the wrongful penalties are collectively worth up to £6.5 million (€7.48 million).
The company taking this action said:
People have been really impacted. I have seen people in tears over this, others have had to sell their trucks. It is completely unjust, and we need to get an answer from an English court to find out if this is correct.
Transport for London simply responded that it is “considering our response.”