Fight back against Ulez grows after more cameras damaged ahead of expansion

New Ulez cameras have been damaged as backlash to the mayor of London’s expansion of the controversial scheme grows. 

Ulez (Ultra Low Emission Zone) is set to expand to all the city’s boroughs in August, with hundreds of thousands more drivers facing new fees.

But there is growing opposition from several councils who are set to legally challenge mayor Sadiq Khan’s plans.

Backlash has now evolved into damage, with four cameras appearing to have their wires cut in Abbey Wood, Greenwich.

The incidents have been reported on TfL’s Streetcare site, where Londoners can share issues they’ve found across the network. 

The newly-installed cameras use Transport for London’s (TfL) Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to police the Ulez zone.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London: ‘It is deeply disappointing to see opposition to a policy being used as an excuse for criminal damage.

‘This petty vandalism of London’s essential transport infrastructure is completely unacceptable.’

This isn’t the first time a camera has been spotted damaged, with one torn down in the capital last month.

In a video posted by @leesreactivemaintenance on TikTok, a Ulez camera is seen lying on the ground next to the traffic lights after being removed from the pole. 

It wasn’t clear exactly where in the capital this previous incident occurred but there was undeniable support for the vandalism in the comments.

Mr Khan has staunchly defended plans, saying air pollution is making Londoners ‘sick from cradle to the grave’ with illnesses such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.

He described Ulez as ‘transformational’ and claimed extending it will mean ‘five million more people will be able to breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives’.

The mayor recently called out those with ‘legitimate objections’ who have been ‘joining hands’ with far right groups last week.

‘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,’ he told a People’s Question Time.

The capital recently made it into the top 10 of most polluted cities in the UK. 

Air quality in London is so poor it is currently the equivalent of indirectly smoking 154 cigarettes a year, according to new research.

Metro.co.uk has contacted the mayor of London and TfL for comment. 

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.