Labour's London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been accused of making false statements amid the capital's ultra-low emission zone expansion (ULEZ).
The claims made by Conservatives came after documents were released that they say prove Mr Khan and his deputy, Seb Dance, made “untrue and dishonest” comments in telling the London Assembly they had not been briefed in advance on the interim results of a consultation into extending the ULEZ.
The Tories claim that the “internal correspondence” shows the mayor was “secretly briefed” about the findings on September 29 last year, a fortnight before he told the London Assembly “I have not seen the results”.
The Mayor's office has been accused of responding to the interim results by launching a £165,000 digital marketing campaign in the final weeks of the consultation.
They shared that they focused their marketing campaign on demographics that are "most likely to support the Ulez expansion".
The Tories also claimed that the mayor’s office “manipulated” the final results by excluding some so-called “campaign responses”, which lowered the level of opposition in the final count from 62% to 59%.
Saying that the policies are “vulnerable to being struck down in a judicial review” if consultations are not conducted in a “fair and impartial way”.
READ MORE: What is the ULEZ and why is it expanding in 2023?
As transport spokesperson for the Conservatives in City Hall, Nick 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.
“The mayor 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.”
Rogers also submitted a formal complaint about Mr Khan to the Greater London Authority monitoring officer.
Minister for London Paul Scully said: “These findings are very concerning.
“If the mayor is going to push through such a punitive and unpopular policy, he has to have a grip on the detail.
“The London Assembly is responsible for the oversight of the mayor of London. It can and should investigate this further.”
Mayor Sadiq Khan speaks out against 'manipulating' claims
A spokesperson for Mayor Khan said: "The real scandal is that toxic air leads to the deaths of thousands of Londoners every year, which is why the mayor took the difficult decision to expand the Ulez London-wide."
Sharing that the "mayor made the decision after considering TfL’s (Transport for London’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."
Later adding: “As part of a rigorous consultation process, 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.”
Khan announced plans to expand the ULEZ in November last year seeing the zone cover all of Greater London from August 29.
The expansion means that drivers whose cars do not meet standards will have to pay £12.50 a day to use London roads.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel