Mobile Ulez cameras are being protected by dedicated security teams in a bid to stop vandals.
Footage was shared on social media this morning of an activist approaching a man and a woman sitting in a red Renault Clio and asking if they were security, prompting one of them to nod.
The activist continues: ‘There’s two of you, this is public money. You’re just keeping an eye on it to make sure no one smashes it?’
In response the male guard nodded his head. MailOnline has contacted Transport for London, which runs the Ulez scheme, to ask whether security teams now protect all mobile Ulez cameras.
Vandals were out in force once again yesterday, with photos from Dartford, south-east London, showing a set of traffic lights fitted with a Ulez camera had been knocked over on to the pavement.
Footage was shared on social media this morning of an activist approaching a man and a woman sitting in a red Renault Clio next to a mobile Ulez camera
The man asks the man and a woman if they are security, prompting one of them to nod
Vandals were out in force once again yesterday, with photos showing one camera on a set of traffic lights in Dartford, south-east London, had been knocked on to the pavement.
An earlier photo of the same camera, which was toppled overnight
London Mayor Sadiq Khan defended the controversial policy during a UN climate summit in New York yesterday by describing it as the ‘best ever two-for-one offer’, adding: ‘The same things that cause climate change cause air pollution.
READ MORE – MPs hit back at Sadiq Khan as he tells New York conference Ulez is a ‘two-for-one offer’ – after study warned carbon emissions could INCREASE in some London boroughs
‘Nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon emissions. If you deal with one, you deal with the other.’
But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Khan’s measures were not proving effective.
‘The problem with the mayor’s plan is that it does nothing for climate change, and is actually very poor on air pollution, but is costing people a fortune,’ he told BBC London.
Neil Garratt, leader of the Conservative group in the London Assembly, said: ‘I am alarmed to hear the mayor claim that expanding Ulez will cut carbon emissions.
‘It won’t and he knows it because his own report spells it out. So why is he claiming otherwise at this conference?’
The Mayor expanded Ulez to cover the whole of London several weeks ago – clobbering thousands more drivers with a £12.50 daily charge.
Yesterday, footage emerged of a protester scaling a ladder to block a camera on top of a Transport for London van in Rainham Road in east London.
Locals rallied around the man, with one writing on Facebook: ‘Let’s hear it for the lad sitting on the ladders blocking the Ulez camera on Rainham Road. This made my morning power to the people.’
Elsewhere in Ickenham, in the borough of Hillingdon, vigilante vandals sprayed foam used for sealing cracks and insulating lofts over two cameras, preventing it from catching drivers.
In Hillingdon, protesters covered a camera with expanding foam in a protest to the expansion of Sadiq Khan’s unpopular Ulez charge
One protester scaled a ladder to block a camera on top of a Transport for London van on Rainham Road in east London
In Ickenham, in the borough of Hillingdon, vigilante vandals sprayed foam used for sealing cracks and insulating lofts over two cameras, preventing it from catching drivers out
Local resistance against the unpopular policy, which is meant to improve air quality and reduce pollution in the capital, has been growing since the expansion was announced.
Some online have supported the most recent vandalism. One person wrote: ‘These people deserve to be on the news for their good work well done. FAB-U-LOUS!’
READ MORE: Mayor says Londoners were ‘educated about air pollution’
Someone else on the group chimed in saying: ‘Quality effort from a quality guy! Thank you.’
Another lamented that they weren’t able to act themselves: ‘I wish I had the time to do this also.’ In one comment he was hailed as a hero with the writer saying: ‘Not all heroes wear capes.’
On one occasion, a camera appeared to be targeted by arsonists, with a photo shared online appearing to show the black box filled with what seemed to be powder from an extinguisher.
Meanwhile, other cameras have been wrapped up in orange tape or covered in cardboard boxes scrawled with the words ‘NO ULEZ’.
In one part of south-east London, nine out of ten Ulez cameras have been vandalised, according to crowd-sourced data. Only 29 of the 185 cameras that have been installed in Sydenham are working.
The expansion of Ulez has been opposed by campaigners. They claim the £12.50 charge is a tax on the poor and working class who cannot afford to pay it or replace their older cars.
Last week, a group of supercar protesters took the streets of central London to challenge the London’s mayor’s expanded Ulez scheme
One social media post showed a van being carried away on a recovery truck
Anti-Ulez campaigners have turned their fire on mobile camera vans trying to enforce the rules by letting down the tyres
Last week, a group of supercar protesters took the streets of central London to challenge the London’s mayor’s expanded Ulez scheme.
The motorcade was led by Petrolheadonism Club founder Ciro Ciampi from Milton Keynes, who brought modified, classic vehicles and supercars to parade along Whitehall.
READ MORE: The ULEZ vigilantes strike again: More spy cameras are stolen by activists as Sadiq Khan faces growing backlash over expansion of hated scheme which sees motorists charged £12.50 EVERY time they drive
The long line of cars passed from Regents Park to Downing Street to show the perceived hypocrisy that some of their ‘supercharged monster’ cars do not have to pay the charge.
The event – one of many Ulez protests in the capital in recent months – was filmed by motoring journalist Shahzad Sheikh, who calls himself the ‘Brown Car Guy’.
Mr Ciampi told Mr Sheikh: ‘We’ve got to celebrate this moment. For people that are here protesting, wow, amazing, because they’ve been affected big time because they live within the M25. It’s just absolutely stupid that it’s been extended.
‘I’ve got a big event in Wembley, it’s going to affect my event next year. For me I’ve got a couple of cars that are not Ulez compliant and I’ve got to pay £12.50 if I come into London for my meetings and stuff like that.
‘But then I’ve got a V12 in the garage or my mate’s got this eight-litre V8 supercharged monster that is Ulez free. It’s not about clean air.
The Ulez zone expanded to include all of Greater London at the end of last month
Anti-Ulez campaigners, known as Blade Runners, claim to have disconnected or destroyed at least 500 of the 2,700 static cameras
People campaign against Ulez in Tooting, south London, last month, one of a string of protests in the capital over the past few months
‘It’s absolutely somebody being a narcissist, jumped up, bloody-minded egotistical, arrogant mayor that just won’t listen to anybody.’
One man whose car is Ulez compliant said: ‘It is saying “You are OK to drive your polluting car if you give me £12.50”.
‘It is all about money, otherwise they would ban petrol and polluting cars.’
There has also been an increase in the Blade Runners, a group of masked activists who damage or destroy Ulez cameras, with images posted on social media showing some TfL camera vans being covered in graffiti.
On other occasions, their tyres have been deflated or the vehicle’s cameras have been covered in bags.
Meanwhile, more than 4,000 people on Facebook have joined a group that encourages people to report sightings of vans.
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘Vandalism is unacceptable, and all incidents on our network are reported to the police for investigation.
‘Criminal damage to Ulez cameras or vehicles puts the perpetrators at risk of prosecution and injury, while simultaneously risking the safety of the public. Camera vandalism will not stop Ulez operating London-wide. All vandalised cameras are repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
‘We have an extensive camera network which is sufficient to support the effective operation of the scheme.
‘Anyone driving a non-compliant vehicle within the expanded zone will be detected and we advise everyone to check whether their vehicle is compliant and to consider the various support that is available to help transition to greener modes of transport.’
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: ‘People are of course entitled to show their opposition to policies peacefully and lawfully.
‘But causing criminal damage is never acceptable.
‘All incidents of Ulez camera vandalism are reported to the police for investigation, arrests have been made and the Met and TfL are using new methods to catch those responsible.’
