A campaign group which now has over 17,000 members are 'looking at options' for a judicial review.

A campaign group which now has over 17,000 members are 'looking at options' for a judicial review

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Sadiq Khan is facing the threat of a legal challenge over plans to expand the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) in London. The Mayor of London last month decided to forge ahead with expanding ULEZ across all of Greater London despite a majority of respondents to a public consultation opposing the plans.

Under the plans, a £12.50 daily charge will be imposed on any vehicle entering the outer limits of the capital if it does not comply with emissions criteria. An estimated 202,000 vehicles are expected to be hit by the charge every day once it comes into force on August 29.

Campaigners are now pressing ahead with plans to challenge the expansion through a judicial review. Action Against ULEZ, a newly formed campaign group, is exploring options on bringing forward a legal challenge which could halt the Mayor’s expansion. The group, which was founded late last year on social media, now has over 17,000 members and is growing.

Nick Arlett, one of the lead campaigners from the group fighting the expansion, told MyLondon: “Our intention is to initiate a judicial review. We are exploring options on how our case can be moved forward which includes crowdfunding." 

Mr Arlett, from West Wickham, also made clear: “The Mayor is prepared to put the health and livelihoods of people at risk with the expansion. The human implications are an obscenity.” Explaining his circumstances, the 71-year-old said he has a Renault van but it does not meet clean-air standards and he also lives two miles from his nearest railway station. The group is holding a demonstration in Parliament Square on January 28.

However, Mr Khan said he would oppose any legal challenge, and said: "It's not the first time we've been reviewed, an attempt has been made - we tend to be successful. I'm hoping we can defeat any legal challenge."

Gareth Bacon, the Conservative MP for Orpington, branded Mr Khan's scheme as “appalling” and warned it was a prelude for the Mayor to introduce road pricing in the capital. The Mayor has previously indicated road pricing similar to the scheme in Singapore could be be introduced to replace both the congestion charge and ULEZ.

Mr Bacon said: “It’s an appalling proposal because it won’t just hit outer London, it will hit people that live outside London just as hard. It [the plan] isn’t really about air quality, it’s about money.”

He continued: “The really chilling thing is this is a prelude to what he really wants to do which is to introduce road user pricing across London at the earliest opportunity and that will be a proposal to charge all Londoners regardless of what pollutants their vehicle admits per mile to drive on the streets of Greater London. That is borderline Stalinist in this approach in terms of state-controlling your every movement and I think that is horrifying.”

Mr Bacon coordinated a letter from a group of London Tory MPs opposing the plans which include former prime minister Boris Johnson. Other signatories to the letter include former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Minister for London Paul Scully. 

It comes as the City Hall Conservatives launched an investigation and called for whistle-blowers at TfL to come forward after leaked data was published, which they claim shows that 66 per cent of respondents to their recent consultation were against the expansion. 

The Mayor was accused of excluding thousands of opposition submissions from drivers outside London. A City Hall Tory source said the "investigation is ongoing and a progress update is expected soon." Four Tory councils have also publicly opposed the move.

Roads minister Richard Holden indicated MPs should not support Mr Khan at the ballot box next year if they disagree with the plans. The Durham North West MP also warned that UK Government grant funding given to Transport to London could not be used to cover the estimated £250 million cost of implementation.

Mr Holden, who was appointed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to the Department for Transport in October, said in a Commons question: “There is no legal requirement for the Mayor to consult either central or local Government on the decision to expand the Ultra-Low Emission Zone. However, we have been clear that Government grant funding, via the longer-term funding settlement, cannot be used to cover the estimated £250 million cost of implementation. Therefore, the Mayor and TfL must cover this cost through alternative sources available to them. If Members [MPs] are unhappy with the decisions that the Mayor has been making, they should make this known at the next London mayoral election in 2024.”

Mr Khan responded: "What I'd say respectfully to those councils who are opposing the ULEZ is how do you explain to your constituents the fact that you top the league tables of the largest number of premature deaths? These deaths are preventable and when you stand in the way of ULEZ, you're making them inevitable."

"One of the joys of living in a democracy is people are allowed to challenge decisions they don't like. I think it's important there's separation of powers and for people to use the courts to challenge a decision that they are not happy with, that they think is particularly unfair or wrong in law [...] It's important for people to realise that the reasons we're expanding the ULEZ are three big reasons: to tackle the climate emergency, improve air quality and three to reduce congestion." 

A report released by traffic data firm INRIX this week concluded London was the world's most congested city for the second year in a row.