Attacks on ULEZ Cameras Almost Double in August

Traffic passes a sign indicating the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) near Hanger Lane in west London on July 22, 2023. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

Crimes involving damage and theft on Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) cameras have almost doubled in a month, according to the latest numbers from London’s Metropolitan Police.

On Friday, the Met announced that according to its latest figures, a total of 510 crimes, including 159 reports of cameras being stolen and 351 of cameras being damaged, were recorded between April 1 and August 31 this year.

This is an increase in the 288 crimes relating to ULEZ cameras which police had recorded on Tuesday, August 1.

ULEZ cameras look for drivers of non-compliant vehicles who are then subsequently charged £12.50 a day to drive in any London borough. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has faced fierce opposition to the scheme.

The zone was expanded on Tuesday to cover the whole of Greater London in what Mr. Khan claims is a measure to improve air quality. Transport for London (TfL) has installed almost 1,900 ULEZ cameras in the expanded area.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan travels to City Hall by tube on August 29, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

The news comes as the “Blade Runners,” a group of activists who have made it their mission to disable and remove ULEZ cameras, previously told The Epoch Times that activity will “escalate” unless their demands are met.

In May, an operation was launched by the Met to ensure a “proportionate approach” was in place to respond both proactively and reactively to any crimes.

It said that has deployed “considerable resources” to its operation.

“Where there are possible lines of enquiry, local investigators will follow up using a range of investigative approaches including CCTV trawls, witness searches and an assessment of forensic opportunities,” wrote the Met.

To date, Met investigations have led to the arrest of two individuals, one charged and bailed for trial to June 2024 and the other discontinued by the CPS.

Blade Runners

Last week, 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 ten 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 past ten months.

In the same ten-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.

Hampton Court

On Thursday, the charity managing Hampton Court Palace, King Henry VIII’s favoured playground and home to his six wives, advised visitors how to avoid ULEZ fees despite entering the expanded area.

Historic Royal Palaces said drivers who turn left out of the south-west London site’s car park “will not be seen” by the scheme’s cameras.

The road leading into Hampton Court Palace’s car park remains outside the ULEZ area, but the one vehicles use when leaving the site is inside it.

Historic Royal Palaces tweeted that visitors who turn left out of the car park “will not be seen by the enforcement camera and will not be charged.”

The palace attracts more than half a million visitors a year.

In March, a report, commissioned by Fair Fuel UK and written by economic consultancy CEBR, warned that ULEZ would have a significantly negative impact by wiping out “at least” half a billion pounds from the capital’s economy per year.

CEBR estimated that the negative impact of the existing ULEZ, which covers central London, has a £253 million hit on the city’s economy. The proposed ULEZ expansion will have an additional negative impact of £369 million.

The total proposed ULEZ effect for cars and vans will be £538 million.

CEBR claimed, however, that it only estimated the “direct effects.”

Mr. Khan disputed the findings of the report.

PA Media contributed to this report.