Sadiq Khan: Today is the day we really start to clean up our toxic air

The air we breathe in London is dangerously polluted. You can’t always see it but it’s a killer.

Thousands of Londoners die prematurely every year as a result, and tens of thousands across the UK. It stunts children’s lungs and is linked to diseases such as cancer, dementia and heart disease.

I refuse to stand by while Londoners are killed by pollution. So I am implementing the most ambitious clean-air strategy of any city in the world to produce real results.

The Government and the previous mayor wrongly thought that because this toxic killer is invisible, they didn’t have to deal with it.

Indeed, the Government has failed so badly that the courts had to order it to act. Theresa May could, and should have, acted as the scale of the public-health scandal has become ever more clear. The Government’s failure to act is nothing short of negligent.

Around half of harmful emissions come from traffic on London’s roads, the vast majority caused by older diesel vehicles. So today we are introducing a new Toxicity Charge — the T-charge — in central London to help clean up our air.

Any vehicle that does not meet our minimum exhaust emissions standards — typically older petrol and diesel cars registered before 2006 — will pay an additional £10 on top of the congestion charge, £21.50 in total.

It will encourage drivers to switch to cleaner vehicles, or to walk, cycle and use public transport in central London whenever possible.

This is the latest step in our long-term plan to reduce pollution. We are working on plans to introduce the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone in 2019, and to expand this to the north and south circular afterwards.

I have huge sympathy with people who bought diesel cars in good faith, based on government advice.

I know many of them can’t afford a new car. So I’m pushing the Government to introduce a diesel scrappage fund in next month’s Budget.

We mustn’t forget that, while toxic air has an impact on all of us, it is the poorest and most disadvantaged who are being disproportionately affected.

I also understand those who say we should go further but our plans have to work. Banning all diesel vehicles could be counterproductive and encourage people to buy polluting petrol cars instead.

TfL is leading by example by spending more than £300 million on retrofitting thousands of buses. No more double- decker diesel buses are being bought. We’re also working to reduce pollution around schools and encouraging more people to cycle with new cycle lanes.

Today is an exciting day. The T-Charge brings London one step closer to cleaning up the polluted air we have been forced to breathe for too long.