Man charged with damaging Ulez cameras, as police launch crackdown after TfL report 96 incidents of criminal damage

12 May 2023, 16:27 | Updated: 12 May 2023, 18:20

A man has been charged with damaging cameras monitoring London's ultra-low emission zone, as the Met launch a crackdown.

Joseph Nicolls has been charged with criminal damage, malicious communications, handling stolen goods and aiding or abetting the destruction of, or damage to, property valued over £5,000, the Metropolitan Police said.

The cameras detect when a car enters the Ulez, with the motorist then facing a bill to pay if their car doesn't meet the mayor's environmental standards in London.

The Ulez has proved divisive, with some people and business owners saying the zone could prove financially ruinous.

The 42-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage and destruction of - or damage to - property.

Detective Superintendent Daniel Smith, whose officers are leading the investigation, said: “We have been proactively targeting those we suspect of causing or seeking to cause damage.

"We are carrying out a thorough investigation and this includes gathering CCTV, speaking to potential witnesses and following up active leads.

"We are also working with TfL to prevent further offences in the future.” Transport for London (TfL) have reported 96 claims of criminal damage.

Despite the controversy, London mayor Sadiq Khan is expanding the Ulez to the whole of London, encompassing about five million more people this year.

He has vociferously promoted the scheme, denouncing critics of it and insisting it is essential to reduce air pollution in London and improve people's health.

A £110m scrappage scheme that gives grants to people on lower incomes, small businesses and charities to scrap or upgrade vehicles that don't comply with the Ulez, opened in January.

Meanwhile secretive activists who call themselves the Blade Runners claim they are attacking the Ulez cameras and have vowed they won't stop until every single one is taken down.

One activist, a father in his mid-40s who wore a balaclava and declined to have his name published, told MailOnline he had taken down 34 himself, and claimed many more had been targeted by others.

Read more: 'Blade Runners' destroying Sadiq Khan's Ulez cameras vow to carry on until every one is down 'no matter what'

Read more: No more Ulez? Sadiq Khan considers scrapping controversial scheme and replacing it with 'pay-as-you-drive' system

He claims there are some 100 people in the group."We are going to take down every single one no matter what," he said.

"In terms of damage it's way more than what [Sadiq Khan and TfL] have stated. It's at least a couple of hundred," the activist said.

ULEZ expansion 'ought to go as far as Inverness' Baroness Jenny Jones tells Nick.

"Snipping, damaging with hammers, painting, disabling on a circuit level and removing. They are unbolted and they are snipped.

"The tools they use to install them are the ones we use to remove it. We don't want this. It's a way to try to... restrict our movements."

Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 4279/10MAY.

Alternatively, contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.