Sadiq Khan admits to stealing Boris Johnson’s ULEZ policy

The expansion of the clean air plan to cover all of Greater London’s areas has recently come up against opposition from councils

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) was not his original idea.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Mayor of London said: “This isn’t my policy. I’ve stolen Boris Johnson’s.

“In 2013, Johnson announced he would be doing a ULEZ. But he did that classic thing that politicians do; he announced something that he left for other politicians to do. I’m going to see it through.”

A few days ago, Khan’s predecessor and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, accused the Mayor of planning to expand the scheme for money-making reasons.

The ULEZ has been a controversial policy since its introduction, aimed at reducing pollution levels in London by charging drivers of older, more polluting vehicles to enter certain areas of the city.

The expansion of the scheme is designed to cover all of Greater London by the end of August.

Khan added: “It (poor air quality) is an invisible killer. And when you look at those 4,000 deaths, the largest number are in outer London, where you have a greater number of old people for whom bad air quality makes them more susceptible to heart disease and other factors.

“In London, 500,000 people suffer from asthma and respiratory issues.”

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