Dulcie Lee
Live reporter

We're going to wrap up our live coverage here - but we've got plenty more for you on this story:

• Catch up with today's developments in our main story here
• Find out all about Ulez and what it means for you here
• See if your vehicle is Ulez-compliant here, external

Today's updates were brought to you by Andrew Humphrey, James Harness, Malu Cursino, Jacqueline Howard, Yaroslav Lukov, Gem O'Reilly, Yasmin Rufo, Harry Low, Andre Rhoden-Paul and Michael Sheils McNamee.

The page was edited by Chirag Trivedi, Paul Gribben and me. Thanks for joining us.

Image source, PA Media

And with that terrible pun, you'll be pleased to hear we'll be off soon. In the meantime, let's recap today's key developments:

• The expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across London can go ahead after the High Court ruled it lawful
• London Mayor Sadiq Khan welcomed the "landmark decision" and said it means "we can proceed with cleaning up the air in outer London"
• Londoners in the new areas with non-compliant cars will have to pay £12.50 per day to drive in the capital from next month
• The court case was brought by five Conservative-led councils which said the mayor had gone beyond his powers, but judge Mr Justice Swift dismissed the legal challenge
• Susan Hall, the Conservative's London mayoral candidate, described Khan's plan as "nothing but a cash grab" but the decision has been welcomed by the Green Party and anti-pollution campaigners

Take a look at how Ulez will expand below:

Image source, .

Nick Johnson
Reporting from Oxted, Surrey

Ben Rickard is a groundsman in Oxted, Surrey, but many of his customers are within Greater London, only a few miles to the north of here.

Ben drives a van which only just breaches the Ulez emissions threshold. He says not only can he not afford a new van, but the value of his current van has plummeted because of Ulez.

He says he’s still trying to decide whether he stops taking customers in Greater London, or if he attempts to increase his prices, to help swallow the impact of the daily charge.

A little earlier, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had been told the cost to taxpayers of the court challenge which sided with him today amounted to more than £1m. But is he right?

The short answer is we're not sure - but not for lack of trying.

The BBC contacted all five councils involved in the judicial review to understand how much they have spent throughout the legal challenge process.

So far only one, Bromley, has responded. The council said it had set aside a budget of £140,000 for legal fees. Its interim spending at the time of its response was £20,953 in counsel fees and £11,453 for internal legal staff.

Yasmin Rufo
Reporting from Bromley

One Londoner tackling the Ulez charge is Josh, a sixth-generation sweep who runs a firm founded way back in 1860 in Crouch End.

He says his small family business previously used four non-compliant vans to get between jobs. Now, he has bought an electric bike to beat the £12.50 daily charge.

The e-bike, which costs over £16,000, is powered by a battery and allows Josh to cover over 40 miles a day, at speeds up to 15mph.

“As a trade, we’ve used primarily the same equipment – rods and brushes – for generations. So it seems that, in terms of how we’re getting around, it’s gone full circle as well. ”

Josh also replaced three of his non-compliant vans, which he said cost him £20,000 each.

“For a small family business, it’s been a lot to pay for these new vehicles, so it’s meant that we’re in a fair amount of debt now.

“It’s been financially crippling”, Josh added.

Image source, PA Media

In admittedly not the most surprising news, the Green Party has welcomed today's High Court ruling, with co-leader Adrian Ramsay saying "clean air zones save lives - the issue is as stark as that".

He says the ruling is "a signal to party leaders of all political stripes that they need to step up and show political leadership in tackling the environmental crisis".

Addressing concerns that schemes such as Ulez come with a financial cost to people and businesses, the Greens say change must be paid for "by the super-rich and the polluting companies raking in gigantic profits, not the poorest in society".

He called for the government to provide support to people who need to change their vehicles - the mayor already has a scrappage scheme you can find out more about here, external.

Firstly, you can check if your vehicle meets the emission standards to exempt it from Ulez here, external.

Broadly, your car will not be compliant if it is pre-2006 petrol or pre-2015 diesel.

If your vehicle is not compliant, you have a choice of either paying a daily charge of £12.50 to drive within the zone, replacing your car or finding another way to travel.

The mayor of London has created a £110m scrappage scheme, external that allows Londoners on certain means-tested benefits to receive up to £2,000 for scrapping a car or up to £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle.

For wheelchair-accessible vehicles there is a grant of up to £5,000.

To qualify for money from the scheme, you must be on certain low income or disability benefits, or be in receipt of child benefit.

Transport for London says more details on eligibility criteria will be available on its website “at the end of July 2023”.

Was Starmer right to say Khan legally had to reduce pollution?published at 13:57 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

13:57 BST 28 July 2023

Image source, PA Media

Following last week’s by-election in Uxbridge, Labour leader Keir Starmer pointed out that Sadiq Khan is legally required to reduce air pollution.

Opposition to Ulez was seen as the deciding factor in why Labour failed to win Boris Johnson's old seat from the Conservatives.

Starmer called on Khan to “reflect” on the scheme, but emphasised the mayor’s hands were somewhat tied. “If the law requires you to do something you can’t simply do nothing,” he said.

Starmer is right that Khan is legally obliged to do something about air quality, but the law does not specify expanding Ulez.

Under the Environment Act, external, all local authorities are required to ensure the air quality in their areas does not breach, external legal limits on pollution.

London meets legal limits for most pollutants, but still has illegally high levels, external of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

As such Khan is legally required to take “appropriate measures” to bring air pollution in London in line with legal limits. How he does this is not set out in law.

Awkward moment for Labour as Khan at odds with leadership over Ulezpublished at 13:54 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

13:54 BST 28 July 2023

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

Mayor Sadiq Khan's insistence that it was essential for the expanded low emissions zone to go ahead as planned is very clearly at odds with what's been said by his own party leadership, which is awkward for Labour.

The shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said yesterday that it was not the right time to "clobber people" with a charge which she described as "not progressive".

Image source, PA Media

Keir Starmer had called on the mayor to "reflect" - after Ulez was pinpointed as the major driver behind the Conservatives managing to hold on to Boris Johnson's old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in last week’s by-election.

Khan though suggested there had been "a lot of misinformation" about the policy during campaigning.

Here's a bit more reaction from Sadiq Khan, who was asked about comments from his own party that Ulez might affect their chances negatively at the next general election.

See what he had to say in this 53-second clip:

Image source, Reuters

You'll have worked out from our previous posts that Ulez divides opinion and sparks pretty passionate views.

But has there been any polling on what Londoners think about the scheme expanding across all London boroughs?

Last year, following a 10-week consultation which had more than 57,000 respondents, including stakeholders and organisations, 59% thought it should not be expanded - 12% believed it should be earlier and 21% thought it was the right date. Only 8% thought it should be introduced at a later date.

Concerns brought up included the cost of the daily charge, concerns about poor transport provision and effects on the economy.

But a YouGov poll at the time of 1,245 London adults showed 51% supported the Ulez expansion - with 21% keen to see it implemented by August 2023, 22% at an earlier date and 8% at a later date. Just over a quarter (27%) thought it should not be introduced at all.

Yasmin Rufo
Reporting from Bromley

Paul has been a fishmonger in Bromley for more than 10 years and regards Ulez as a "tax on the poor”.

"People here are so unhappy with what is happening, how can you expect someone to pay £12.50 a day just to get to work?"

As I talk to Paul, many other people on the high street in this part of south London join in the conversation, all expressing the same feelings.

Fred, a local electrician, says he is really worried about Ulez.

"It’s going to really hurt working-class people," he tells me.

"Mr Khan is going to put a lot of people in a lot of debt."

Mark Poynting
BBC News

Across all London boroughs, air pollution far exceeds limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), external.

Ulez will be expanded to include outer London. Here, air pollution is actually lower than in inner London, but air pollution has a greater effect on health, external. This is because there is a higher proportion of elderly people in outer London, who are more vulnerable to air pollution.

London’s air quality has been improving. Between 2016 and 2019, average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter – two of the most damaging pollutants for human health - fell by around one-fifth, external.

Nevertheless, no areas of London will meet the WHO’s guidelines for safe air for these pollutants by 2030 without further action, according to current projections, external.

The mayor of London says this is the reason that the expansion of the Ulez is needed.

The mother of a nine-year-old girl who died following an asthma attack due to air pollution has said it is a relief Ulez will be expanded in London.

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah lost her daughter, Ella, in 2013. The family had lived near a major road in Lewisham, south-east London.

A coroner concluded air pollution had contributed to Ella's death - making her the first person in the UK to have it listed as a cause of death.

Following today's ruling, Adoo-Kissi-Debrah told BBC News: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the mayor of London for listening to me and [prioritising] the lives of children, especially in London.

"Up to 12 die every year from asthma, and I am relieved really. I think I'm slightly overwhelmed and quite shocked."

Now a World Health Organization (WHO) air quality ambassador, Adoo-Kissi-Debrah stressed that air pollution should be seen as a "health issue" and she called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to contribute more to the Ulez scrappage scheme.

"This isn't a party political issue. This is about lives and about the nation's health," she added.

Image source, Getty Images

Whether or not your vehicle can be freely driven in the Ulez depends on its year of manufacture. Broadly, these are the vehicles you can drive in London without paying the Ulez fee:

• Diesel cars and vans: 2015 models and newer
• Petrol cars and vans: 2006 models or newer
• For motorbikes, it's 2007 and up
• Buses, coaches and lorries are a little different – they're beholden to the LEZ standards, external

Whether or not your vehicle is compliant isn't based on some arbitrary year – it's to do with EU standards., external

Every few years, as developing technology allows for greener cars, the EU updates the standards that new cars sold from that point on into the EU market must comply with.

When Ulez was first proposed for central London by the then-mayor Boris Johnson, we were up to Euro 6 standard, which covered cars from 2015. Sound familiar? That's the diesel car and van Ulez cut-off point. For petrol cars, it's Euro 4, motorbikes Euro 3 and, as mentioned above, the largest vehicles must be Euro 7.

Image source, PA Media

Are you driving to Heathrow Airport to catch a flight next month? Or maybe you live in a London borough and you drive to the supermarket for the weekly shop?

In either case, you will need to know how Ulez works when it extends across all London boroughs on 29 August.

1. Transport for London (TfL) charges drivers for using the road if their vehicle does not meet Ulez emissions standards
2. Ulez operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year, except on Christmas Day
3. Most petrol vehicles under 16-years-old or diesel vehicles under six-years-old meet emission standards. You can check on TfL website if your vehicle complies or if it does not comply but is exempt from the charge
4. If your car does not comply with TfL's emission standards and you drive in the Ulez charging zone, you need to pay a daily charge of £12.50
5. The Ulez zone will be expanding across all London boroughs from 29 August

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has just been speaking to the BBC.

He told us: "I welcome the judgement today. I've been told more than £1m of council taxpayers' money has been wasted on this case".

He adds: "I'm quite clear though, I made this decision to expand Ulez because it is really important we address the public health crisis."

Asked about increased costs to Londoners, Khan says nine out of 10 cars in London are already compliant with Ulez and the scrappage scheme would offer support.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone is set to expand to three times its current size in a month's time, after a judge ruled its expansion could go ahead.

It means any cars that don't meet emissions standards (generally petrol cars registered before 2005 and diesel cars before September 2015) will have to pay £12.50 to drive in London.

Check out the areas affected - and see which councils brought the unsuccessful court challenge - below:

Image source, .

Mark Poynting
BBC News

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) typically targets older vehicles, because they are the most polluting.

This is because there is very strong evidence that air pollution damages human health.

Air pollutants - for example nitrogen dioxide - can cause and worsen respiratory problems like asthma, and can affect those with heart conditions, according to multiple scientific studies.

Across Greater London, the equivalent of between 3,600 and 4,100 deaths can be attributed to air pollution every year, according to Imperial College London research, external.

This figure isn’t the number of people whose deaths have been directly caused by air pollution. Instead, it’s an estimate of how many extra deaths there have been across the whole population because of the effect of pollution on people’s health.

Across the whole of the UK, air pollution has an effect equivalent to between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths , externala year – making air pollution “the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK”, according to Public Health England.

We're now hearing from some of the councils who lost their court bid this morning, here's a flavour of their reactions:

Councillor Colin Smith, leader of Bromley Council said the ruling was a "bitter disappointment" for motorists and traders who would have to "consider ceasing business and laying off staff".

"I can only say sorry. We've tried our very hardest to protect you but ultimately, today's judgment does mean that the mayor has taken another step closer to getting his way," he said.

Harrow Council leader, Paul Osborn, said: "It is a sad day for our residents and businesses who are worried about the impact the expansion will have on them when it comes into force."

Councillor Tim Oliver, leader of Surrey Council said the decision will be respected but was "incredibly disappointing".

"This has always been about protecting Surrey residents, many of whom will now be significantly socially and financially impacted by the mayor's decision as they go about essential, everyday journeys," he said.