Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Khan unveils new support over London Ulez charge

Grants of up to £2,000 to scrap non-compliant vehicles would now be made available

Khan unveils new support over London Ulez charge

LONDON's mayor announced increased financial support for owners of more polluting vehicles impacted by his contentious extension of a daily charge when driving them in the British capital.

Labour's Sadiq Khan insisted the politically charged expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) would go ahead as planned on August 29, after the High Court ruled last week that it had been done lawfully.


The scheme -- first introduced in 2019 and separate from London's two-decades-old congestion charge -- requires the most polluting vehicles to pay a £12.50 toll on days they are driven within the inner city.

Its extension to all of Greater London later this month has prompted a fierce backlash from many living in and around the newly encompassed areas, who face fines of up to £160 for each day they fail to pay.

It was widely blamed for costing the main opposition Labour party victory in a by-election last month in former prime minister Boris Johnson's old parliamentary seat, where it become the main issue during the campaign.

In a sign of the political pressure mounting on the mayor, he said grants of up to £2,000 to scrap non-compliant vehicles would now be made available to every Londoner.

That support had previously been restricted to certain residents, such as those claiming some benefits.

The under-fire Khan also announced that the scrappage payment for vans will increase from £5,000 to £7,000, and that small businesses and sole traders will be able to scrap three vans or minibuses.

Charities will be able to receive up to £27,000 in grants to scrap up to three minibuses.

"I have always said that expanding the ULEZ to the whole of London was a difficult decision, and not one I took lightly -- but it's a decision I remain committed to seeing through," Khan said in a statement announcing the new support.

"I'm not prepared to step back, delay or water down vital green policies like ULEZ, which will not only save lives and protect children's lungs by cleaning up our polluted air but help us to fight the climate crisis."

(AFP)

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less