Drivers to be hit with new £10 daily ‘toxic charge’ from next year in London and ‘other major cities’
Drivers of diesel cars face the world's toughest air pollution penalties as they pay more by the end of the decade
TO tackle poor air quality which is "literally killing Londoners", drivers with vehicles made before 2005 will have to pay £10 when entering London, increasing to £12.50 by 2019 as part of a tough "toxicity charge".
In projections given by the Mayor of London's office drivers of diesel cars built before 2015 could also have to pay the £12.50 by the end of the decade.
This will be on top of the current £11.50 congestion charge all drivers must pay.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced his plan to tackle air pollution in the capital while visiting children at Great Ormond Street Hospital, who are being treated for respiratory conditions made worse by poor air quality.
Research has shown 443 schools in the capital are in areas exceeding legal pollution levels.
The charge, which could also be rolled out to other cities after being pioneered in London, would be the toughest air pollution penalty in the world.
By the end of the decade the charging zone will have become ten times bigger, affecting 210,000 drivers a day.
Mr Khan said it would be the "toughest emission standards of any major city in the world" in order to reduce the 9,500 premature deaths a year linked to poor air quality in London.
He also called for the Government to bring in a national diesel scrappage scheme to encourage people to get rid of the most pollution vehicles.
Many people jumped on the diesel bandwagon after Gordon Brown, then chancellor in 2001, slashed duty on diesel and reduced company car taxes because the fuel reduced carbon dioxide emissions - despite diesel producing more toxic particles than patrol emissions.
Following on from this rush to purchase diesel cars, the number of vehicles on Britain's roads using diesel more than doubled.
Under Mr Khan's plans the ultra-low emission zone will expand from central London to the north and South Circular roads. The charge will be in place at all times.
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Thousands more roadside cameras will be in place to catch those who do not pay.
The "toxicity charge" will not apply to taxis and Uber cars and local residents should still receive a 90 per cent discount initially.
Mr Khan, who suffers from adult-onset asthma, said: "It is the 60th anniversary of the Clean Air Act of 1956, which was passed following the great London smogs of the 1950s.
"Just as the 1950s, air pollution today is literally killing Londoners.
"But unlike the smoky pollution of the past, today's pollution is a hidden killer.
"The scale of the failure to tackle the problem is demonstrated by the failure of the government and the previous mayor to meet legal pollution limits.
"Urgent action is now needed to ensure that Londoners no longer have to fear the very air we breathe."
London took just one week to breach its annual air pollution limits this year.
Jenny Bates, Friends Of The Earth’s air pollution campaigner, said: "Road traffic is the biggest problem for air pollution and diesel vehicles are the worst of all – which is why calls for a new Clean Air Act must include the phasing out of diesel.
"Diesel fumes and air pollution cause lung cancer. 40,000 people die early in the UK each year from dirty air and many more lives, including huge numbers of children, are blighted by asthma and lung infections.
"Sadiq Khan’s call for a diesel scrappage scheme is a great start to help reduce dirty diesel fumes but to save lives, we must look to both phase out diesel and reduce traffic to make the air we breathe safer."
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