ULEZ row: Tories accuse Sadiq Khan of ‘misleading’ City Hall about TfL briefings

Sadiq Khan has been accused of misleading City Hall about briefings from TfL on the controversial decision to expand the ULEZ scheme, amid a row over the move.

The mayor is seeking an expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), across the capital which would see drivers of vehicles which do not meet emissions standards charged £12.50 a day, from August 2023.

The policy has prompted strong opposition from some residents in outer London areas and the rival City Hall Conservative group, and comes as boroughs including Sutton vow to block the plans.

Now Labour mayor Khan has been accused by the Conservative group of making “false and dishonest” statements when he told the London Assembly he had not been briefed on the results of a consultation Transport for London (TfL) held into the proposed scheme.

At a Mayor’s Question Time session on October 13, Sadiq Khan told members he had not “seen or been briefed” on the consultation results.

But minutes of a TfL meeting, shared by the Conservtive group this morning (Tuesday, January 17), suggest Mr Khan attended a briefing on the ULEZ consultation results on September 29.

Slides showed 59% of Londoners opposed the ULEZ expansion, versus just 27% according to a YouGov poll.

While transport deputy mayor, Seb Dance’s, assertion to City Hall that he had also not been briefed has been branded “especially egregious” due to claims he received weekly updates.

GLA Tories also allege mayoral staff “improperly” used City Hall resources to “skew” results in the mayor’s favour, including spending £165,000 targeting young voters on social media.

But Khan’s spokesperson hit back, insisting: “Any suggestion that TfL or the mayor has sought to influence the results of the ULEZ consultation is simply untrue. The real scandal is that toxic air leads to the death of thousands of Londoners every year, which is why the mayor took the difficult decision to expand the ULEZ London-wide.”

And City Hall sources said the mayor was only presented with the full consultation results on November 18 - which included the full analyses, public health information and polling data.

Conservative members made a formal coplaint to the Greater London Assembly (GLA) alleging “multiple serious breaches of the code of conduct and the principles of public life”.

In documents seen by LondonWorld, they detail allegations that:

• Mr Khan and Mr Dance “knowingly made false and dishonest statements” denying they had been briefed by TfL despite evidence they had been;
• The mayor made “misleading statements” to the London Assembly multiple times;
• And senior mayoral staff made “improper” use of GLA resources to “interfere” with the ULEZ expansion consultation process to “skew the results in the mayor’s favour”.

Nick Rogers, the GLA Cons transport spokesperson, wrote to monitoring officer Emma Strain, claiming staff interference was “most likely under the mayor’s instruction”; that it “compromised the integrity of the consultation” and “damaged” the GLA and TfL’s reputation.

Commenting on the allegations, Mr Rogers said: “We now have overwhelming evidence that Sadiq Khan has committed serious misconduct, by violating the integrity of the consultation and improperly excluding thousands of legitimate responses.

“He must now explain himself to Londoners, who participated in this consultation in good faith. This behaviour cannot stand and must be addressed by the appropriate authorities.”

Deputy Conservative group leader Peter Fortune said the evidence “reveals the mayor’s contempt for the rules, his failure to follow due process and his disregard for the people who hold him to account.

“It shows he never intended to listen to Londoners. Sadiq Khan has brought himself and his office into disrepute. He must face the consequences and apologise for his actions.”

Minister for London Paul Scully said the findings were “very concerning”, adding: “If the mayor is going to push through such a punitive and unpopular policy, he has to have a grip on the details.”

The MP for Sutton and Cheam continued: “The London Assembly is responsible for the oversight of the mayor of London. It can and should investigate this further.”

The mayor’s spokesperson said: “The mayor made the decision after considering TfL’s full final report on the consultation responses. The consultation was not a referendum.

“However, TfL made a number of modifications to the scheme following feedback received in the consultation.

“This included addressing cost of living concerns with a £110m scrappage scheme for low-income Londoners and extending the exemptions for disabled Londoners.

“TfL takes its responsibility to run robust and legally compliant consultations extremely seriously, with an independent consultancy putting together the final analysis and report.”

And they added: “It was right for TfL to seek responses from as wide a range of Londoners as possible, including young Londoners – whose lives will be affected by air pollution for years to come.”

A GLA spokesperson said: “The monitoring officer has received a letter from Assembly Member Nicholas Rogers today and will respond in due course.”