The Deputy Mayor of London, Jenny Jones, is raising the issue with the Commission of Police at this Thursday’s meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority.
“It is also ironic that the Metropolitan Police are the only force in the country blocking the Government inspectors, when it is London which has the worse air quality in the country.”
The Vehicle and Operators Standards Agency (VOSA) have been given the go-ahead by the police for emission testing elsewhere in the country, but not in London. VOSA have been doing roadside testing of vehicles since the Second World War, but this has been mainly restricted to HGVs and vans. They have only recently been given powers to stop cars and the Metropolitan Police are apparently concerned that this might provoke protests from motorists.
Jenny, a Green Party London Assembly Member continued, “24,000 people a year die prematurely across Britain because of air pollution. We need to do more to bring emissions from motor vehicles in the capital under control."
“The Met are behaving like children. They have the ridiculous situation where the police don’t consider this a priority for them, but they are deliberately blocking Government officials from getting on with the job."
"We have lost half the number of traffic police in London and allowed a culture of rogue motorists to flourish, with around 10% of drivers in London being uninsured, or falsely registered. Of course some drivers will be surprised and protest but past failures is hardly a reason not to do it now.”
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The new Police Reform Act 2002 gives VOSA officers the power to stop vehicles without the need for police support; enabling them to carry out their statutory duties. The Met Police have disallowed these tests to be carried out in London and have threatened to rescind VOSA’s powers to stop vehicles altogether if they try and stop private cars. Meanwhile, VOSA have a national agreement with the Association of Chief Police Officers which allows testing to continue.
The London boroughs (through the Association of London Government) have run a £1m road-side testing campaign, funded by DfT and the Mayor of London, but this is due end by 31st March this year. This testing has been accompanied by a high profile advertising campaign to encourage drivers to take responsibility for their vehicles’ exhaust emissions.
ENDS