London's Ulez zone could be suspended and millions of pounds refunded to motorists if a fresh legal challenge is successful.
Scaffolding business owner Noel Willcox is taking Transport for London (TfL) to court over auto-pay charges based on incorrect signage of the Low Emission Zone (Lez) and Ulez.
He already won a similar case over the Low Emission Zone (Lez) after he was fined £11,500 for driving his truck in the capital.
Former Conservative Mayor of London candidate Susan Hall told GB News: “If Noel’s claim is successful it will be a fantastic victory for him after years of fighting for what is rightfully his.
"What amazes me is that Transport for London carried on charging motorists from October 2021, when the Adjudicator had already ruled the Low Emission Zone signage unlawful, right through until the Ulez expansion in August 2023."
The London Assembly member added: "It raises very serious questions about accountability.”
Noel Willcox is also claiming TFL has not been refunded £2,100 in auto-pay charges made for driving in London
|GB NEWS
Mr Willcox, also the Chairman of Reform UK's Hemel Hempstead branch, won a landmark legal judgement in 2021 after racking up £11,500 in penalties for driving his scaffolding firm truck in the Lez zone.
The adjudicator at the appeal tribunal ruled in his favour, saying the scheme did not "provide adequate information”.
They added: “I cannot be satisfied that the Low Emission Zone signs are authorised and lawful.
"TfL have therefore failed to establish that the contraventions occurred and that the PCNs [Penalty Charge Notices] were lawfully issued. I therefore allow the appeal and direct that the PCNs be cancelled.”
Despite that binding ruling, TfL continued to issue penalties and pursue motorists – including bailiff enforcement against Mr Willcox’s company in March 2022 for £11,500.
He is basing his latest claim against Lez/Ulez on his previous win.
Mr Willcox is also claiming TFL has not been refunded £2,100 in auto-pay charges made for driving in London.
Next month's Central London County Court hearing, a private law claim, could result in a subsequent legal wrangle that TfL fears could result in the scrapping of Ulez.
According to legal papers seen by GB News, thousands of motorists who paid to drive their vehicles in the zone may be refunded.
Lawyers acting on behalf of TfL say the financial impact would result in the scheme being suspended.
They went onto to say its operation of the public transport could be impacted.The zone was extended in August 2023 to encompass all 32 London boroughs, having originally launched in 2019 covering Central London.
Motorists driving vehicles that do not meet certain emission standards have to pay £12.50 every day.
In a Questions to the Mayor session on June 11, Sir Sadiq Khan told Ms Hall the signage was legally "sound".
He said: "We often have examples of non-TfL personnel putting up signs, which is not sound.
"The signage that TfL puts up is sound.
"There have been some errors made by TfL in the past where some of the signage has been just outside the perimeter of London, and there are always checks being done on any signage to make sure it is within the parameters of what should be allowed."
He added: "I am confident in the briefing I have received that at the moment the signage is sound, but it is kept under review because human error often happens in these sorts of cases rather than anything more pernicious than that. If there have been errors made by human beings, we will rectify that."
A TfL spokesperson said: “The Lez signs were deemed lawful by the Department for Transport in 2008. Due to a processing error the correct evidence was not supplied to the adjudicator in time in Mr Wilcox's previous case.
"We continue to robustly defend our position in the current proceedings."
To date TfL has never challenged the Adjudicator's decision by way of a judicial review.