Sadiq Khan’s much-hated Ulez scheme suffered a humiliating defeat today after TfL admitted wrongfully fining a motorist for using his car in London despite having donated it to the Ukraine army.
Charles Cooper, 65, drove his Volvo SUV more than 1,400 miles to donate his car to a Ukrainian charity in August last year only to find that just two months later it had been fined for being driven in a Ulez area in London.
The chartered accountant was on holiday in Greece at the time of the alleged incident and when he returned home in January he discovered a pile of scathing letters from Transport for London.
TfL had threatened to take him to court and appoint bailiffs if he didn’t pay the fine, forcing Mr Cooper to spend over £300 on lawyers to fight the case.
But now, in an embarrassing step-down, the Greater London Council body told MailOnline the charge ‘was issued in error’ and apologised to Mr Cooper ‘for any distress caused’ after cancelling the fine.
Charles Cooper, 65, who donated his car to the Ukrainian war effort but just two months later the vehicle had been issued with a penalty charge for being driven in a Ulez area in London
Charles is seen donating his car to a Ukrainian charity in August last year. But in October it was fined for being driven in a Ulez area in London
Sadiq Khan’s who first introduced the Ulez scheme, which requires people to pay a £12.50 daily charge for driving non-compliant vehicles, in April five years ago
Mr Cooper, who is the former chief executive of BRI Wealth Management, said he was sent photographs by TfL, allegedly showing his car driving in a Ulez area on October 10.
However, he disputed that it was his car in the pictures, not only because he had donated it to the Ukrainian army in August, but also because the number plate of the car did not appear to be his.
Mr Cooper told The Telegraph he was given a ‘very unclear photograph of the front of a Volvo which they claim was my number plate’.
He claimed the ‘photographs provided did not clearly indicate the full registration’, adding that to him, the picture seemed to show a number plate ending in OKK, while the TfL argued it was his plate, which ends in OKW.
Mr Cooper said: ‘However, more pertinently, on that date (October 10) I was in Greece. Furthermore the Volvo in question was given, by me, to the Ukrainian army on August 18 2023. The DVLA has this recorded as an exported vehicle.’
Mr Cooper drove his car across the Ukrainian border and delivered it to the charity 4Ukraine, a humanitarian aid group which delivers surplus aid supplies to the country, on August 18.
The accountant said he told TfL about this and even sent a picture of him handing the car over to an army contact.
Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are seen on a visit in London on March 18
File photo of an information sign for London’s ULEZ, a scheme expanded by Mr Khan last year
Protesters against Mr Khan’s ULEZ expansion have been vandalising cameras, including this one in Uxbridge, west London, which had its lens sprayed over with white paint
Protesters opposed to the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone demonstrate outside BBC Broadcasting House in London on July 22 last year
However, Mr Cooper claimed TfL has ‘ignored’ this, and has only been met ‘with greater threats’.
He said: ‘The last thing I got from them was that I was going to be sent to court and bailiffs would be appointed, which was when I wrote to them saying, well, there’s no point in doing that, because I would rather go to prison than pay you anything.’
Mr Cooper said he was due to go to court in Northampton within 21 days of January 17, which he did not attend but is ‘yet to be arrested for contempt of court’.
The accountant claimed he had hired solicitors to fight the court order, which has so far cost him over £300, while TfL has now ceased any further communications.
He said: ‘I have been obliged to put this matter in the hands of my solicitors, as it was the last resort to avoid TfL’s threat to appoint bailiffs.
‘This has cost me well over £300 but has caused TfL to cease communication, though not to admit any form of culpability. I am not aware if the case has been abandoned.
‘This situation is positively Orwellian. What sort of country are we living in?’
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘After a review of Mr Cooper’s case it is clear that the charge was issued in error. We apologise for any distress caused and have cancelled the outstanding charge.’
Sadiq Khan’s Ulez scheme, which requires people to pay a £12.50 daily charge for driving non-compliant vehicles, was first introduced in April five years ago.
Last year it was expanded to cover the whole of Greater London, sparking a furious backlash among drivers and so-called ‘Blade Runner’ activists tearing the cameras down.
Surprisingly, Mr Cooper’s case is not the first time someone has been wrongfully charged for driving in a Ulez area.
MailOnline reporter Darren Boyle was fined for driving his 2002 Porsche Boxster, which features a 2.7-litre flat six Boxer engine producing 220bhp, was fined £90 despite his car being Ulez compliant.
Meanwhile, Partab Singh, 35, from Leicester saw his bank account deducted five times after Ulez cameras misread the details of other cars – confusing the digits for those on his private plate.
MailOnline journalist Darren Boyle recently purchased a Porsche 986 Boxster
The car, pictured, is on a 2002 plate and has a very extensive service history and was bought for less money than a 2013 Ford Fiesta
Because the car is on a 2002 plate, TfL automatically say it is not up to the applicable Ulez standard. Darren is pictured driving his Porsche along a leafy woodland road
Partab Singh’s BMW which was mistakenly charged by the ULEZ scheme five times
Between October and December, the BMW owner paid Ulez charges for a Renault and a Mercedes-Benz as they had similar – though not identical – number plates.
He told MailOnline: ‘It’s ridiculous, I’ve never had any issues with that number plate before registering for ULEZ. It makes no sense, why is the newest camera network in Britain also the worst?
‘The cameras and technology in place are clearly not working and fit for purpose. Why do I keep getting charged when I live in Leicester and generally only travel within the Midlands?
‘They should not have introduced the system which cost taxpayers millions until it had been tested thoroughly.’
In October, almost 1,000 motorists in Harrow, north west London were unjustly fined because the ULEZ camera had been installed pointing the wrong way and was catching drivers skirting outside the zone.
The Tory candidate in the Mayoral election set for May 2, Susan Hall told MailOnline: ‘Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion is nothing but a tax grab, which is why even compliant vehicles are being forced to jump through hoops to prove they don’t owe him £12.50 per day.
‘His own impact assessment found it would do next to nothing to improve air quality, and yet it is hitting families, small businesses and charities that cannot afford to replace their car.
‘I will scrap the ULEZ expansion on day one of my Mayoralty, no ifs, no buts.’
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