Mayor Andy Burnham has accused Boris Johnson of 'playing dishonest politics' after the Prime Minister branded the Clean Air Zone proposal 'thoughtless'.
Mr Burnham has also demanded that the Prime Minister urgently tell Greater Manchester once and for all if a Clean Air Zone is legally required by the Secretary of State to bring air pollution down to safe levels.
Speaking in the House of Commons of the temporarily suspended scheme to charge high-emission vehicles in Greater Manchester, Mr Johnson said: "As somebody who once had to deal with a badly thought out emission zone, it is totally wrong to impose measures thoughtlessly that damage business and don't do very much to protect clean air.
