Sadiq Khan branded a ‘modern day highwayman’ by Lee Anderson in scathing Ulez attack
Lee Anderson has branded Sadiq Khan a 'modern day highwayman'
GB NEWS / PA
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been branded a “modern day highwayman” in a scathing rant by the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson.
During a discussion on GB News, Anderson took aim at Khan’s Ulez (Ultra Low Emission Zone) expansion, and his decision to charge motorists for using the Blackwall Tunnel.
Transport for London (TfL) confirmed that it expected to start charging drivers to use the Blackwall Tunnel in 2025, with the funds going towards the construction octs of the £2 billion Silvertown Tunnel.
Hundreds of thousands of Londoners use the tunnel every day, with some already having to dig out substantial sums for Ulez and the Congestion Charge.
WATCH LEE ANDERSON'S INTERVIEW BELOW
Anderson says the London Mayor is undertaking an act of “robbery without violence”.
“He’s like a modern day highwayman”, he told Dan Wootton.
“The man is seen as a thief, and who can disagree with that? First we had the Ulez expansion, and now we have this.
“It’s like Dick Turpin, he’s out robbing people on the highway. The poor motorists have enough to contend with in this country, and he’s hammering them yet again.
“Roll on next year, we need to get this man out.”
The Silvertown Tunnel is being built with the aim of reducing the congestion seen at the Blackwall Tunnel on a regular basis.
Sadiq Khan has been been the Mayor of London since 2016PAThe passage is set to link the Greenwich Peninsula on the Southbank of the Thames, to Silvertown on the north.
The announcement came after Khan’s controversial Ulez plans were given the all clear following a late High Court challenge.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month urged Khan to “think twice” about its expansion, while on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer suggested cities should look at other ways to tackle air pollution.
Motorcyclists opposing the plan are set to protest against it by riding together on the M25 on Sunday.
They will gather at six locations on the outskirts of the capital before descending on Surrey’s Box Hill.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will extend the Ulez zone to cover the entire city from August 29.
Non-compliant vehicles that enter the zone are required to pay a £12.50 daily fee or face a fine.
Transport for London (TfL) says motorbikes must meet Euro 3 emissions standards to avoid the Ulez charge, which generally means those registered from July 2007.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “More than nine out of 10 motorbikes seen in the existing Ulez are already compliant and will not have to pay the charge.
“For the small minority of riders that currently will have to pay the charge, the mayor has announced a major widening of the scrappage fund from Monday to make the scheme available to all Londoners with non Ulez-compliant motorbikes, while increasing the amount of money that small businesses and charities can receive.”