Sadiq Khan dismissed outrage from Londoners and increased Labour alarm today as the ULEZ expansion came into force.
In a bruising round of discussions this morning, the mayor denied that expanding the ultra-low emission zone across the capital was an 'anti car' money-raising exercise.
He shrugged off fears from allies of Sir Keir Starmer about the political consequences of imposing the £12.50 a day levy so widely, insisting people want to see their leaders taking aggressive action.
But Sadiq Khan did attempt to suppress a fresh row by denying that he would bring in a pay-per-mile scheme for motorists during his time at City Hall, despite the emergence of documents revealing it has been considered.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he would have blocked the ULEZ plan if he had the power.
The bulk of Greater London is covered by the £12.50 a day levy from today.
It hits petrol vehicles introduced before 2005 that are not compliant with Euro 4 emissions regulations.
Meanwhile, diesel cars and vans are only exempt if their engine complies with more recent Euro 6 rules, which were introduced in September 2015.
This will snare popular vans registered before the cut-off date including Ford Transit Custom 310s.
Sir Keir Starmer has been attempting to estrange himself from the policy since it was blamed for Labour's failure to win the Uxbridge & South Ruislip by-election, triggered by Boris Johnson's resignation from the Commons.
Senior Labour figures fear that outrage at the policy could cost the party key outer London seats in the general election next year.
But Sadiq Khan told Times Radio that the policy to clean the air in London was not anti-car or anti-motorist.
He said that the good news was actually that nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on an average day were already compliant, so there was no additional fee for them to pay, no restrictions on them, yet they could benefit from the clean air.
He also said that he accepted that there were a small number of cars that would be affected, they're non-compliant cars, and that they themselves, the drivers, breathe in pollutants, and that's why he's announced that every single driver in London of a car or motorbike, every small business with a van, every charity with a minibus, will receive financial support (for scrapping non-compliant vehicles).
Sadiq Khan is targeting the poorest in society, and he knows precisely what he's doing. He's not really telling us the truth because how can paying £12.50 a day improve air quality if old cars are still on the roads?
ULEZ zones are spreading like cancer, and are we actually supposed to accept this foolery that they're for 'cleaner air'?
Sadiq Khan has spent billions on something that will be made redundant eventually because of the Government's own electric car agenda.
Don't be deceived, these cameras are for the next phase which is pay per mile, and this is also a way to remove all your freedoms once and for all.
Surely, Sadiq Khan shouldn't have the right to do this, especially without proper consultation from the public, and I really can't see any justification to do this. I also can't see any justification for having a Mayor, what's the point?
If Sadiq Khan was actually that worried about air quality, then why not take old cars off the roads and replace them with electric vehicles? Yes, that's right, REPLACE, not sell them to people.
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