MASKED vigilantes known as the ULEZ Blade Runners have been taking down Sadiq Khan’s low-emission cameras around London.
The London mayor’s expansion of the ultra-low emission zone will make drivers in London pay £12.50-a-day to drive in the capital if their vehicle doesn’t meet the environmental standards.
A TikTok video shows a ULEZ camera having been damagedtiktok/leesreactivemantienance
EPASadiq Khan is planning to expand the ULEZ scheme to cover Greater London later this year[/caption]
TwitterA camera is covered with a Sainsbury’s bag for life[/caption]
One camera covered with a box that says ‘stop electing idiots’Twitter
The measure, which is due to come into force on August 29, has already been met with strong opposition and now groups are forming who target the cameras being put up around London.
One member told the MailOnline: “We are going to take down every single one no matter what.”
The man, a dad in his mid-forties who has not been identified, claimed he had stolen 34 ULEZ cameras personally and the group he belongs to, as well as similar groups, had taken down hundreds.
He said: “Snipping, damaging with hammers, painting, disabling on a circuit level and removing. They are unbolted and they are snipped.”
He added: “We don’t want this. It’s a way to try to… restrict our movements.
“F**k them. It will not happen because we haven’t done anything to deserve it.”
Transport for London (TfL) said vandalism was “unacceptable” and “all incidents are reported to the police for investigation”.
However the Met Police’s press office said it was not aware of any specific offences.
Any ‘Blade Runner’ found guilty of criminal damage could face as long as four years in prison.
Struggling Londoners already hit by the cost of living crisis say they are being forced to fork out thousands of pounds to buy newer vehicles that comply with the incoming regulations.
Those who cannot afford to do that will have to pay the £12.50 charge in order to do everyday tasks such as take their kids to school.
It is estimated that around 200,000 people who own non-compliant vehicles will be affected.
The ‘Blade Runner’ said: “Everything we are doing is for our own freedoms.
“It’s the tip of the iceberg. We do not live in a democracy.
“We will fight with everything we have for our freedoms.”
The mayor’s office said there were 43 instances of vandalism or theft to ULEZ cameras up to March 21 this year.
Due to “commercial and confidentiality reasons” it said TfL would not share how much each camera cost or how much repairs would be.
Mr Khan’s plan has come under fire from all areas, including small businesses and charities who say they could be forced off the road due to the changes.
The ‘Blade Runner’ claimed his group had more than 100 people in it and that the number was “increasing” with people covering different parts of the capital.
He said that while they mainly target the ULEZ expansion area, they also attack the existing zone as well.
He added: “We do whatever we can.”
It’s believed TfL has been spending between £60-£75million on ULEZ cameras and signs.
The budget for the controversial expansion is between £130m and £140m.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “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.”
Another ‘Blade Runner’ from a different group said: “Whatever they do the cameras will keep coming down.”
Clean Air in London boss Simon Birkett said: “The ULEZ has successfully reduced concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, a toxic air pollutant, along roadsides where many of the most vulnerable people live.
“As an anti-pollution measure, it has also been highly successful at warning Londoners about the dangers of carcinogenic diesel fumes such that only 7,595 diesel cars were registered for the first time in the whole of Greater London in 2021 – a city with a population of over eight million people.”
In the last four years in London, 15,432 people have died whose deaths were attributable to man-made fine particulate matter from air pollution, according to Clean Air in London.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “People are of course entitled to show their opposition to policies peacefully and lawfully. But causing criminal damage is never acceptable.”
Susan Hall, the Conservatives’ City Hall leader, said: “Sadiq Khan is wrong to put up cameras and impose his ULEZ tax against the wishes of an overwhelming majority of Londoners. But vandalising cameras and breaking the law is completely unacceptable.”
TFLThe ULEZ scheme is due to be expanded on August 29, 2023[/caption]
AFPMayor of London Sadiq Khan has faced widespread criticism of the ULEZ expansion[/caption] Read More