Organised groups sabotage ULEZ cameras as campaigners warn of protests

‘People aren’t bluffing’: Organised groups sabotage ULEZ cameras as campaigners warn of French-style protests and civil disobedience on a ‘huge scale’ if expansion of Sadiq Khan’s scheme goes ahead

•  Campaigners are urging for a reversal of what they call a ‘war on motorists’

Organised groups are allegedly sabotaging ULEZ cameras being installed around London as part of Sadiq Khan’s expansion plan. 

Campaigners against the ultra-low emissions zones spreading in the capital are urging for a reversal of what they believe is a ‘war on motorists’.

The London Mayor’s controversial scheme will force Londoners to pay £12.50 a day to drive in Greater London from August 29, if their cars don’t meet certain environmental standards.

A new group, UK Unites, is reportedly warning the government to expect civil disobedience on a ‘huge scale’ if there is no change of approach. 

The group claims to unite campaigns supported by more than 2.5 million people in the country. 

Phil Elliott, 59, the campaigner behind the initiative, told The Times: ‘People aren’t bluffing. There are just so many things wrong across the country affecting so many people and stressing them out, how could there not be civil disobedience?’

He added: ‘People just can’t afford new cars or the charges – people like carers who are on c**p wages. They’re desperate.’

The campaigner said the ULEZ expansion could prompt protests similar to those seen in France and Holland.

This comes after it emerged last month that a secret activist army is vandalising and stealing Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ cameras. 

Dubbed the ‘Blade Runners’, the covert group has been attacking ANPR cameras that catch out drivers using high-polluting vehicles across the capital.

One of the secretive Blade Runners, who met with MailOnline, vowed: ‘We are going to take down every single one no matter what’.

Dressed in a balaclava to protect his identity, the father in his mid-forties revealed he had stolen 34 ULEZ cameras himself but his group and others like them have taken down hundreds.

A secret army is vandalising and stealing Sadiq Khan’s Ulez cameras. Two of the ‘Blade Runners’ showed MailOnline some of the cameras they had taken down

People have also taken to putting bags over the controversial cameras in an effort to stop them working

London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ scheme has been splitting communities in two and costing struggling families thousands of pounds.  

Hard-up Londoners have told MailOnline they have already had to shell out huge sums to buy new cars that comply with the money-spinning Ultra Low Emission Zone, and they fear they are being priced out of the capital.

In some areas of the city, the Ulez will force parents who can’t afford to buy new motors to pay the £12.50 charge to drive their children to school. While pensioners fear being left stranded and unable to see their GP located inside the penalty zone.

Neighbours living just yards apart on opposite sides of the clean air zone face starkly different fates, with some saying they will be slapped with a charge for simply leaving their homes, while those living a stone’s throw away are unaffected. 

Sadiq Khan’s much hated scheme is set to force Londoners in all boroughs to pay £12.50-a-day to drive in the capital from August 29, if their cars don’t meet certain environmental standards

The Mayor of London says the decision to expand the ULEZ zone was ‘necessary’ (stock image)

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said earlier this week: ‘The Mayor has been clear that the decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide was not an easy one, but necessary to tackle toxic air pollution. 

‘Around 4000 Londoners die prematurely each year due to air pollution, children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.

‘We know that councils are keen to do the right thing and ensure their vehicle fleets are as clean as possible. TfL will continue to engage with outer London boroughs and ensure they are prepared for the London-wide expansion of the ULEZ this August.’

MailOnline has contacted the Mayor of London office for comment. 

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