A lawsuit launched by Dutch truckers may derail far-left London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s green tax on drivers, arguing that thousands of fines levied on drivers to supposedly save the environment were unlawful.
In the first major challenge against Sadiq Khan’s green agenda, Transport in Nood BV, a firm that represents dozens of Dutch trucking companies, has applied for judicial review against Transport for London (TFL) at Britain’s High Court. The move could potentially imperil the draconian Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) tax on cars and similar Low Emission Zone (LEZ) on larger vehicles to further legal challenges.
Transport in Nood BV will argue that the TfL has illegally issued €6.5 million in over 10,000 green tax fines to their trucker clients. The firm has claimed that the TfL and its debt collecting agency, the Euro Parking Collection (EPC), issued hundreds of fines to some companies on a single day, which they say prevented their clients from changing their behaviour after the initial infraction and avoiding further penalties.
They will also argue that the Khan administration has illegally imposed climate tax fines on them in euros rather than British pounds, which UK law mandates. Transport in Nood BV claimed that the Khan London government has used excessive exchange rates when calculating the fines, claiming that while British truck drivers face a maximum penalty of £3,000 for violating the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ), Dutch truck drivers have received fines of €3,600, equating to £3,200.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the owner of Transport in Nood BV, Antonio Oliveira said: “People have been really impacted. I have seen people in tears over this, others have had to sell their trucks. It is completely unjust, and we need to get an answer from an English court to find out if this is correct.
“We are launching this claim to get the fines that have already been paid to be repaid, and the court costs. We are talking millions of pounds. We are only talking about Holland – it must be even greater across Europe. We are not the only country, of course.”
In August, Mayor Khan expanded the Ultra Low Emissions Zone tax — originally intended to reduce traffic and pollution in Central London — to all of Greater London. The move has meant that anyone driving in London, including in suburban and semi-rural areas, now faces a green tax of £12.50 to £27.50 per day if their vehicle does not meet Khan’s climate standards.
The green tax system, which is enforced by a network of licence plate-reading surveillance cameras, has already run into challenges from foreign drivers in London, with tens of thousands of fines issued against European motorists being rescinded earlier this year after it was found that their cars did in fact meet the city government’s emissions criteria.
Perhaps a more pressing concern for the ULEZ system, however, has been the domestic revolt against the green programme, with members of the British public engaging in civil disobedience by destroying or disabling hundreds of the spy cameras used to enforce the tax on driving in the capital.
In response, Khan’s office initially deployed surveillance vans to roam the streets and now has reportedly hired a “goon squad” of black-bloc-style masked men to go out on patrol and even allegedly engage in violent tactics against citizens to protect the spy cameras.
Condemning the apparent intimidation tactics by the mayor, the leader of the City Hall Conservatives, Neil Garratt, told the Daily Mail: “Like Dick Turpin, Mayor Khan’s modern day masked highwayman like to hide their faces.
“As they stand guard over his Ulez detector vans by schools and homes, these masked heavies make a menacing site in suburban London.”