London mayor Khan’s decision to block cars for Ukraine scheme "gobsmacking"

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has blocked a plan to send cars to Ukraine that would otherwise be scrapped under Ulez.

In a letter obtained by The Telegraph, the Mayor of London has said he will not allow the vehicles, which tend to be 4x4s and pick-up trucks, to be sent to the war zone, where they are desperately needed on the front line.

Under the London Ulez scheme, motorists are able to claim a one-off payment of £2,000 if they scrap a vehicle that does not comply with the controversial pollution levy.

If they instead keep their non-compliant vehicles – most diesel cars registered before September 2015 and petrol cars registered before January 2006 – they must pay a daily charge of £12.50.

In September, Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, wrote to Mr Khan after noting the UK’s scrappage scheme, proposing that some of the vehicles be donated to Ukraine. He said the move would have “enormous potential” and be used in a “variety of life-saving and transport roles”.

But this week, Mr Khan wrote to Mr Klitschko to say he would not allow the proposal because it did not meet the “legal threshold” that requires the Ulez scrappage scheme to benefit Londoners from an “economic, social and environmental perspective”.

The unpopularity of Ulez – which Labour blamed for its failure to win the Uxbridge by-election earlier this year – is thought to have led to Mr Khan expanding the scrappage scheme.

Mr Khan’s letter, dated Dec 12, was sent in response to Mr Klitschko’s letter in September.

In March, RAC research suggested that nearly 700,000 cars registered in Greater London were Ulez non-compliant.

Last month, Transport for London apologised to motorists whose applications for the scrappage scheme were taking too long amid increased demand.

Senior Tory MPs said Mr Khan’s decision to block the initiative was “outrageous”. Gareth Johnson, the MP for Dartford who introduced a private members’ Bill to overturn the Ulez expansion, said: “Both London and the rest of the world will benefit from stopping tyrants like Putin succeeding in his aggressive actions.

“I am gobsmacked. The vast majority of Londoners would want to see vehicles that can help the people of Ukraine in their difficult time. This is bureaucracy gone mad and it’s an astonishing decision by Sadiq Khan.

“Anything that helps the people of Ukraine benefits all of us. It’s basic humanity to help Ukraine and pass on these cars and he is refusing to do so.”