Tories double down on claims Sadiq Khan is plotting a 'pay-per-mile' charging ... trends now
The Tories have doubled down on claims Sadiq Khan is plotting a 'pay-per-mile' charging scheme for London drivers with a new attack advert.
In a video seen by MailOnline and to be shared across social media, the Conservatives highlight how London's mayor previously ordered transport bosses to work on plans to charge motorists for every mile they drive.
It comes amid a furious row between Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall and Mr Khan over future plans for the capital's roads if he is re-elected on 2 May.
The London mayor has angrily denied he is planning to introduce a 'pay-per-mile' scheme while he is mayor and blasted Tory 'lies' and 'scaremongering'.
But the Conservatives have compiled a dossier of 17 occasions a possible 'pay-per-mile' scheme has been referenced by Mr Khan or senior City Hall figures during his mayoralty.
The Tories have doubled down on claims Sadiq Khan is plotting a 'pay-per-mile' charging scheme for London drivers with a new attack advert
It comes amid a furious row between Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall and Mr Khan over future plans for the capital's roads if he is re-elected on 2 May
This includes Mr Khan writing in his book Breathe, published in May last year, of his 'plans to introduce a new, more comprehensive road-user charging system, to be implemented by the end of the decade at the latest'.
Ms Hall has also pointed to how Mr Khan, shortly after the last mayoral election in 2021, said he had 'no plans' to extend the capital's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to outer London.
He then controversially extended ULEZ to all London boroughs in August last year.
The new Tory attack video features an audio clip of Mr Khan speaking to an "Evening Standard podcast in January 2022.
The London mayor told the podcast at the time: 'I have asked TfL (Transport for London) today to start working on... what can TfL do in the medium to long-term about moving us towards a smart road user charging scheme to replace the congestion charge, the ULEZ... with one simple scheme where people pay per mile depending on what time of day they drive, what their vehicle is, what the alternatives are to driving their car and so forth.'
Within the dossier put together by the Tories are also the results of a Freedom of Information request from December last year.
This revealed TfL had set aside up to £150million for 'Project Detroit', which is work on 'a new core technology platform for existing road user charging schemes to replace the currently outsourced system as the current contract expires in 2026'.
A previous FoI request to TfL
