Newly-installed ULEZ cameras are vandalised with wires cut and lenses painted black amid growing backlash at Sadiq Khan’s planned expansion of the zone
- Four cameras in Abbey Wood, Greenwich vandalised amid ULEZ opposition
- ANPR cameras had wires cut and lenses painted black to obstruct their view
- Comes as opposition to Sadiq Khan’s planned expansion of the ULEZ zone grows
Newly-installed ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) cameras in south London have been vandalised as the backlash to the planned expansion of the zone continues to grow.
Four cameras in Abbey Wood, Greenwich, were photographed with their wires cute and lenses painted black as the level of opposition of Sadiq Khan’s planned expansion of the ULEZ zone grows, with politicians and campaigners urging him to change his mind.
The London Mayor has said the expansion, set to take place to cover the whole of the capital from August 29, is aimed at reducing the amount of air pollution in London.
The damaged Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera’s belong to Transport for London (TfL), and are set to monitor the ULEZ zone.
It comes after an increase of similar instances in the capital, with an extra 300 ANPR cameras recently installed. A further 2,750 will be installed by the official launch date.
Newly-installed ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) cameras in south London have been vandalised
Four cameras in Abbey Wood, Greenwich, were photographed with their wires cute and lenses painted black as the level of opposition of Sadiq Khan’s planned expansion of the ULEZ zone grows
Other images have emerged online, showing cameras ripped from their perch and thrown on the ground
READ MORE: No 10 slaps down Sadiq Khan after London Mayor begged PM for yet more money to prop up hated ULEZ expansion
Photographs have emerged of a camera in west Sutton, which also had its wires cut, and another in Catford, Lewisham, with a lens painted black in a bid to obstruct its view. Others also show cameras ripped from their perch and thrown on the ground.
Despite the camera’s being installed at a rapid pace in most areas, they have not yet been put in place in Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, whose councils are looking to challenge the mayor in court over the proposals.
Currently, the ULEZ is limited to an area within the north and south Circular roads. Drivers who do not meet minimum emissions standards are charged a £12.50 daily fee for entering the zone. The expansion means this area will be wider.
Londoners can apply for a means-tested grant of up to £2,000 to scrap their non ULEZ-compliant cars or motorcycles. But the decision to push ahead with the expansion during the cost-of-living crisis has been met with outrage
It comes after Honslow council was accused of hypocrisy after backing the expansion – then asking for an exemption for its own 400 vehicles.
Hounslow council deputy leader Katherine Dunne wrote to the London mayor last summer raising concerns that it would not be able to make all its vehicles ULEZ compliant by the August 2023 deadline.
The council is one of 16 outer London boroughs that have supported the mayor’s plans to expand the zone, and already has 37 ULEZ cameras installed on its streets.
Photographs have emerged of a camera in west Sutton which had its wires cut
Currently, the ULEZ is limited to an area within the north and south Circular roads
The London Mayor has said the expansion, set to take place to cover the whole of the capital from August 29, is aimed at reducing the amount of air pollution in London
But failing to meet the compliance rules would place further pressure on the authority’s budgets, Miss Dunne argued.
Mr Khan has been facing staunch criticism recently over branding some ULEZ opponents as ‘far-right’ and ‘Covid deniers’.
During a heated People’s Question Time in Ealing, west London last week, he said: ‘Let’s be frank, let’s call a spade a spade… some of those outside are part of the far-Right, some are Covid deniers, some are vaccine deniers and some are Tories.’
It also emerged that the mayor has asked Transport for London to look into using ULEZ cameras to charge car users in a ‘pay-as-you-drive’ scheme in the capital.
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