Boris Johnson scraps plan to charge 'gas guzzlers' £25 to drive in central London

The London Mayor halted plans by his predecessor Ken Livingstone to increase fees to the congestion zone for cars that emit a large amount of CO2.

Discounts for environmentally friendly vehicles that were planned to be introduced to the zone in October this year have also been stopped.

Scrapped: 4X4 vehicles will no longer be facing a £25 congestion charge

Luxury car maker Porsche, supported by Kensington and Chelsea council, brought a legal challenge to the decision to raise the toll from £8 up to £25 for the worst polluting cars - many of which were 4x4s.

Transport for London, the body which runs the congestion scheme, says it will pay Porsche's legal fees.

The car maker says it will donate the money to London youth charity Skidz.

Mr Johnson, who campaigned in the mayoral elections against the fee hike, said the move would save £10 million in administration set-up costs and not add to congestion in the capital.

He said: 'My commitment to making the congestion charge fairer and more effective for Londoners is well known. And I am delighted that we have been able to scrap the £25 charge, which would have hit families and small businesses hardest.

'I believe the proposal would actually have made congestion worse by allowing thousands of small cars in for free.

Last month, Mr Johnson hit out at councils that raised parking permit fees for owners of heavy polluting cars.

He said that he intended to reduce pollution by not penalising families, but by decreasing congestion.

Mr Livingstone said the new mayor's decision was "a further blow to the London as groundbreaking city to tackle climate change and improve the environment".

He added that rather than saving money "London will lose £30-£60m expected annual revenue from the scheme".