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Mayor is plotting road tolls across capital, say Tories
Last updated at 12:19pm on 06.02.07
Ken Livingstone was accused today of plotting a major extension of road charges across London.
The Conservatives believe a new Bill will give the Mayor the power to impose tolls on any road in the capital.
Mr Livingstone denies the claim and has accused the Tories of misunderstanding the way the legislation is worded.
The row comes a day after the Evening Standard revealed Transport for London is looking at introducing a third congestion-charge around Greenwich and the Blackwall Tunnel.
According to the Conservatives, the Supplemental Toll Provisions Bill gives TfL the power to make toll orders. It also gives it the right to install charging equipment and to require cars to carry toll-reading machines.
The legislation, which has its second reading in the Lords this week, is being introduced privatelyby TfL so it can charge for crossing the new Thames Gateway Bridge. But the Tories claim it is a "Trojan horse" which will give TfL the ability to introduce "tag and beacon" technology on any road in Greater London.
They are citing guidance from civil servants on the London Assembly which says the draft Bill "will provide further powers to TfL to make toll orders across all of London similar to those TfL already administer with congestion charging".
The guidance continues: "The Bill outlines that all roads would be eligible for tolling, not just newly constructed roads such as the Thames Gateway Bridge."
Lord Hanningfield, the Conservative transport spokesman, said the measure was being slipped through Parliament as quietly as the Mayor could manage. But a TfL spokesman said: "It gives us additional powers to collect and enforce tolls. It does not give us any powers to set tolls."
• A row has erupted between the Treasury and the Department for Transport over national road charging. Transport ministers believe the scheme will only be palatable to motorists if the money goes directly to improving the transport system. But the Treasury believes ring-fencing taxes for a particular cause would create a dangerous precedent.
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