Government may face legal action over delay to air pollution plan

Fresh legal action could be taken against the Government after it sought to delay publishing plans to tackle air pollution until after the General Election on 8 June.

The Government was given until 4pm on Monday by the courts to set out its plans to reduce illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution which is largely caused by diesel emissions.

It followed a ruling last year that existing measures put forward by ministers did to meet legal requirements.

However, on Friday the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) lodged a new application with the High Court to hold up publication until after the 8 June poll.

Defra argued the move was necessary in order to comply with election "purdah" rules on government announcements during the election period.

The environmental law firm which brought the original case against the Government, ClientEarth, said it was considering whether to challenge the application.

Chief executive James Thornton said: "The unacceptable last minute nature of the Government's application late on Friday night, after the court had closed, has meant that we have spent the weekend considering our response.

"We are still examining our next steps. This is a question of public health and not of politics and for that reason we believe that the plans should be put in place without delay.

"Whichever party ends up in power after the June 8 will need this air quality plan to begin finally to tackle our illegal levels of pollution and prevent further illness and early deaths from poisonous toxins in the air we breathe.

"The Government has had five months to draft this plan and it should be published."

The deadline for publication passes at 4pm but it is thought that it may be a couple of days before the court decides whether to grant the application.

Shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman said: "With nearly 40 million people in the UK living in areas with illegal levels of air pollution, it is simply not acceptable for ministers to hide behind the general election to delay publishing plans to improve air quality.

"Purdah rules exist to stop one party using the machinery of government for their electoral advantage, not to be used as an excuse to delay acting on vital public health matters. We trust that the court will recognise this."