Sadiq Khan claimed a “far-Right” element were among protesters at a “people’s question time” event at Ealing Town Hall on Thursday night.
The Mayor was fielding questions on a range of topics, although his plan to expand the Ultra low emission zone dominated the evening.
Several protesters outside the town hall cited conspiracy theories about “15-minute cities” and the supposed introduction of “social credit systems” in Britain.
Signs held by some falsely claimed there would be an “end of free movement” as a result of schemes like Ulez and a “UN agenda”. Other signs depicted the Mayor with both a swastika and a hammer-and-sickle symbol.
In the town hall, amid frequent heckles from the audience, Mr Khan said: “What I find unacceptable is some of those who’ve got legitimate objections [about Ulez] joining hands with some of those outside, who are part of a far-Right group.
“Let’s be frank. Some of those outside are part of the far-Right. Some are Covid deniers. Some are vaccine-deniers. And some are Tories.”
Some audience members shouted back: “We are not the far-Right — normal people are not the far-Right.”
Conservative Assembly Member Peter Fortune was cheered as he said: “You heard it didn’t you? If you disagree with the Mayor, he’s going to paint you as far-Right. He’s going to throw all this stuff at you, because he doesn’t want to address the fact you’ve got legitimate concerns.”
A range of questions were asked at the event, but Ulez re-occured as a topic throughout. One audience member challenged Mr Khan on the fact that the Ulez plan was not included in his 2021 election manifesto, while questions were also asked about how much evidence there was that the expanded Ulez will significantly reduce pollution.
The Ulez currently covers the area inside the North and South Circular Roads, but Mr Khan intends to expand the zone to cover all of Greater London - effectively taking it up to most roads inside the M25 motorway - on August 29. Drivers of non-compliant vehicles within the Ulez have to pay a daily charge of £12.50.
The expansion plan has come up against opposition from councils in outer London and the home counties, who mainly argue that the zone’s expansion will do little to improve air quality – and is being introduced at the worst possible time, because of the cost of living crisis.
Mr Khan claims that five million more Londoners will breathe cleaner air if the Ulez expands to cover the whole city and he points out that around 4,000 premature deaths in London per year are due in part to poor air quality.
A spokesman for Mr Khan said on Friday: “The Mayor completely stands by his decision to call out the vile messages on display outside the event in Ealing. Those who came to protest included some of most dangerous spreaders of vaccine conspiracy theories and people displaying Nazi symbols.
“Whether in London or in any other part of the country, dangerous conspiracy theories and abhorrent far-right activity should always be condemned in the strongest possible form.”
