Vandals have committed almost 300 crimes against cameras installed on London's roads to enforce a clean-air zone that imposes a daily charge on drivers, police said on Friday
Protesters opposed to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) expansion, who call themselves Blade Runners, are believed to be responsible for vandalising the enforcement cameras installed by Transport for London (TfL).
As 2,750 cameras were erected in the new areas that the zone will cover, 288 crimes were recorded against Ulez cameras, with 164 being stolen and 185 cases of cables being damaged as of August 1.
Several offences can be linked to one camera, such as a cable being cut and then the camera being stolen.
Police launched an operation in April after receiving reports of theft and damage to the cameras and purported videos of the vandalism surfaced online on social media platforms.
“These are clearly unacceptable acts of criminality and we have a team of officers investigating and identifying those responsible,” Cmdr Owain Richards.
“We are providing a proportionate policing response, balancing these incidents against the wide range of operational demand and crime we must respond to across London.
“We are working closely with TfL and, alongside our investigation into offences already committed, we are supporting them identify new ways to prevent further cameras from being damaged or stolen.
“We are continually reviewing where we need to focus our efforts and we will continue to do that over the coming weeks to ensure we are providing the service Londoners expect from us.”
Police released a photo of a man they want to trace in connection with four camera offences in Hillingdon, Harrow and Uxbridge on June 17.
Images also emerged this week of Ulez cameras and their wires being given extra protection, including through the use of black metal boxes.
The Ulez expansion is controversial in those areas of London where it is expanding into – mostly because of its daily cost when the country is also tackling rampant inflation that has caused the price of staples to rocket.
Ulez charges the drivers of the most polluting vehicles and is an expansion of a system that started in central London and was first extended to some inner boroughs.
The next expansion, planned for August 29, has been championed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan as essential to bring down deaths linked to air pollution and combat climate change.
Critics say its £12.50 ($16) daily charge for drivers of the most polluting vehicles is unfair on thousands of motorists during a cost-of-living crisis.
The crimes underscore the polarising nature of the Ulez debate in London. Last month, a legal challenge from five local authorities failed to stop it going ahead.
It was also blamed for a narrow by-election defeat in outer London last month for the opposition Labour Party.
Labour was expected to take the seat in what would have been a sign of the ruling party’s unpopularity but its candidate ran on the local Ulez issue.
Mayor Khan has announced £50 million in additional funding to extend a Ulez car scrappage programme to all drivers.
TfL says nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on an average day comply with the Ulez standards.
Figures obtained by the RAC show more than 690,000 licensed cars in the whole of London will probably be non-compliant.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Sour%20Grapes
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZakaria%20Tamer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESyracuse%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E176%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
