Islington is first London council to call on Sadiq Khan to ban diesel vehicles from roads

Islington has become the first town hall in London to urge Sadiq Khan to ban diesel vehicles from the capital’s roads.

The Labour-run borough called on the Mayor to join Paris, Madrid and Mexico City in getting rid of the most polluting vehicles within a decade.

It has backed his plans for a £10 T-charge on the most polluting vehicles in central London from October and the early expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone.

But the north London borough urged him to go further. Islington’s environment spokeswoman, councillor Claudia Webbe, said: “A blanket ban in the capital on all diesel vehicles would have a dramatic impact on air quality for the millions of us who work and live in London.”

A spokesman for the Mayor said: “The Mayor is delivering hard-hitting measures to rid London of the dirtiest diesel long before 2025, the most ambitious of any world city.

“The Mayor has been clear that nothing is off the table — he is using all of the tools available to him to tackle this public health emergency now, but the Government needs to step up to the mark and introduce a diesel scrappage fund.”