London Mayor Rejects Klitschko's Proposal to Send Scrapped Cars to Ukraine

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has rejected a proposal to send cars to Ukraine that would otherwise be scrapped under the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) policy.

According to a letter obtained by The Telegraph, Khan stated that he will not allow these vehicles, predominantly 4x4s and pick-up trucks, to be sent to the war zone despite the urgent need on the front line.

Under the London Ulez scheme, motorists have the option to claim a one-off payment of £2,000 if they decide to scrap a vehicle that does not comply with the controversial pollution levy.

The proposal to send some of these scrapped vehicles to Ukraine was initiated by Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, who wrote to Mr. Khan in September. Klitschko suggested that the vehicles could serve various life-saving and transport roles in Ukraine.

However, Khan responded this week, expressing his refusal to allow the proposal, citing a lack of meeting the "legal threshold" required by the Ulez scrappage scheme to benefit Londoners economically, socially, and environmentally.

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for the mayor of London, criticized Khan's decision.

She argued that Londoners who choose to scrap their cars should have the freedom to decide if they want their vehicles sent to support Ukraine.

Hall pledged to seek a change in the law if she becomes mayor, allowing Ukraine to receive the vehicles.

Richard Lofthouse, associated with Car for Ukraine, a volunteer initiative delivering 4x4s and trucks to the front line, criticized Khan for lacking "political courage."

“Presumably it’s no bad thing and no ‘disbenefit’ for Londoners to actually show solidarity with another free state fighting tyranny, rather than only line the greedy pockets of private scrapyard merchants who are receiving thousands of perfectly good cars as the result of the scrappage scheme subsidy,” he said.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, volunteer organizations like Car for Ukraine have been delivering donated 4x4s and larger vehicles to the war zone for soldiers on the front line.

These vehicles are repurposed for various uses, including combat and casualty retrieval, once inside the country.