The “Blade Runners,” a group of activists who have made it their mission to disable and remove ULEZ cameras, have warned that activity will “escalate” unless their demands are met.
It comes as London’s Metropolitan Police reported nearly 20 percent of cameras installed for London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone have been damaged or stolen.
The Met announced the figures on Friday after an operation was launched in April, following reports of criminal damage and theft passed on to police by Transport for London (TfL).
Speaking exclusively to The Epoch Times on the condition of anonymity, a source claimed they were one of the founders of the so-called Blade Runners group.
The source showed The Epoch Times before and after photos of cameras they claimed to have chopped down, alongside content from some of the group chats they were involved in.
Having started out as a group of just 10 individuals, they now claim to have swelled their ranks to well over 80 people, “perhaps close to 100.”
When asked about the number of cameras they had personally vandalised, the individual claimed to have taken down “about 25 or so cameras” over the last 10 months.
In the same 10-month period, as a group they claim to have taken down well over 100 cameras.
Their motivation, the source said, was the cost of expanding ULEZ outside the original emissions zone, and perceived ineptitude from incumbent Mayor Sadiq Khan.
‘This Is Going to Escalate’
They added that they didn’t have a problem with cameras being installed in central London, stating: “Inner London we don’t have an issue with—inner London is justified. [Cameras in] outer London was our problem—it’s not justifiable.”According to the source, a number of “lone ranger” activists have started to copy the methods of the group.
“This will not end, it’s gone too far now. Even if me or the main core group stop tomorrow, there’s lone rangers now who will go and do their own thing. This is going to escalate.”
They added: “It won’t stop until either the ULEZ thing is expunged or Sadiq Khan is out of office. This will carry on until May 2024. And if the next mayor continues, so will we.”
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, listens to Commander Alison Heydari of the Metropolitan Police during a visit to an estate in Edgware Road, Westminster, central London, to discuss Operation Nightingale, on April 14, 2023. PA
Repurposed Cameras
Another motivation for the vigilante group is the potential for the cameras to be repurposed in future.“They’re up there and they’re up there for good. When they [taxpayers] get pushed into buying an electric car, don’t forget they are free from road tax. They’ve [the council] got to recoup that money from somewhere. And it’s wrong as far as we’re concerned.”
Official statistics state that 1,775 cameras have been installed, with TfL’s target of reaching 2,750 by the time the planned expansion of the zone is completed on Aug. 29.
Met Police Commander Owain Richards said in a press release: “These are clearly unacceptable acts of criminality and we have a team of officers investigating and identifying those responsible.
“We are providing a proportionate policing response, balancing these incidents against the wide range of operational demand and crime we must respond to across London.
“We are working closely with Transport for London and alongside our investigation into offences already committed we are supporting them [to] identify new ways to prevent further cameras from being damaged or stolen.
“We are continually reviewing where we need to focus our efforts and we will continue to do that over the coming weeks to ensure we are providing the service Londoners expect from us.”
‘I Share Their Infuriation’
Howard Cox, founder of pressure group FairFuel UK and Reform Party candidate for the London mayoral election next year, told The Epoch Times by email: “Sadiq Khan in his presidential bubble simply does not get it. The anti-ULEZ protesters will not go away. The police will become even [more] active in seeking the perpetrators.“More and more of these cash-grabbing cameras will be demolished by a few ultra-frustrated drivers simply because they were not instituted democratically.
“I will never ever back these people breaking the law, but I share their infuriation,” he said.
One Facebook group with around 7,000 members has collated the locations of ULEZ cameras across London and tracked whether they are operational.
The map shows 1,619 cameras outside the North and South Circular roads, with 461 reported as vandalised or stolen. This equates to 28 percent of TfL’s network of cameras.
As of Tuesday, the Met had recorded 288 crimes relating to ULEZ cameras. This included around 185 reports of cables being damaged and 164 cameras being stolen.
In addition, there were 38 reports of cameras being obscured.
Looking ahead to the date for the ULEZ expansion at the end of August, Mr. Cox said: “The ULEZ expansion launch day will now be thrown into administrative turmoil because of so much unclear warning signage and a growing amount of vandalised number-plate recognition equipment.”
As part of their ongoing operation, the Met have now released an image of a man they are working to trace in connection with four offences in Hillingdon, Harrow, and Uxbridge on June 17.
The Epoch Times has reached out for comment to the London Mayor Sadiq Khan and TfL.
