London Mayor Sadiq Khan has come under intense criticism from senior Conservative Susan Hall over his refusal to send vehicles scrapped under the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion policy to Ukraine.
Hall accused Khan of prioritizing “taking cash from the poorest” over “saving Ukrainian lives” with a decision that “screams of a Mayor more concerned with taking cash from the poorest than with saving Ukrainian lives.”
According to GB News, the controversy erupted after Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reached out months ago to Khan, asking if London’s scrapped vehicles could be donated to Ukraine to support the country’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Khan refused, prompting Hall to blast the decision as an example of how “out of touch he is with London’s values.”
By Susan Hall’s estimate, Khan’s refusal has led to thousands of ULEZ non-compliant vehicles being “unnecessarily destroyed” instead of donated to the Ukrainian effort. Hall argued that the vehicles, although not meeting ULEZ emissions standards, “are capable of serving as much-needed transport for Ukrainian troops or vital supplies.”
Defending his decision, Khan cited “legal and logistical constraints” as the key barriers to exporting the scrapped vehicles abroad. Hall dismissed these as “the flimsiest of legal excuses,” designed to cover up Khan’s true motivations.
“Here we have a situation where vehicles set to be dumped on a scrap heap could be donated to help in Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion. Sadiq Khan said no, and now that he has been caught out, he is hiding behind the flimsiest of legal excuses,” Hall wrote.
Hall pointed to past comments Khan had made vowing to “do all he can” to support Ukraine, arguing his refusal to send vehicles showed those words were empty rhetoric.
“This exposes Khan’s virtue signaling over Ukraine as just that – signaling,” Hall said. “When it comes to meaningful action to support Ukrainian lives, Khan is missing in action.”
The Conservative Assembly Member for Havering and Redbridge also accused Khan of expanding the ULEZ emissions charging zone across much of Greater London partly to profit from the policy.
“There’s no doubt in my mind Khan is motivated chiefly by money with his decision to massively expand the ULEZ zone. He knows full well thousands more Londoners will soon have to pay his daily charge if they want to drive around the capital,” Hall wrote.
She estimated Khan’s move could generate £200 million more in annual revenue through ULEZ fines and fees. Hall contrasted Khan’s focus on ULEZ profiteering with the urgent needs of Ukraine’s military forces.
“He should park his money-making ULEZ scheme and make helping Ukrainian people his priority. Their needs are far greater right now than his desire to squeeze every last penny out of London drivers,” Hall said.
In her scathing critique, Hall argued Khan was badly out of touch with the values and priorities of ordinary Londoners. She said most residents would back sending old vehicles to Ukraine if given the choice.
“This goes completely against what the kind and compassionate people of London stand for. If it was put to a vote, I’ve no doubt Londoners would want old cars saved from the crusher and sent to help the Ukrainian war effort,” Hall wrote.
The Conservative politician said Khan’s stance showed he “simply does not care enough about the Ukrainian people” or understand that Londoners support Ukraine. She accused him of “staggering” indifference toward Ukraine’s plight.
Hall closed by urging Khan to reverse course immediately and promise to send all vehicles scrapped under the ULEZ expansion to Ukraine as soon as logistically possible.
“It might go some way toward making up for his failings so far. The people of Ukraine deserve better than Sadiq Khan’s half-hearted commitment to their cause,” Hall concluded.
