Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion has been controversial at best and an increasing number of Londoners have been taking illegal action to fight back.
Joseph Nicholls was, last week, charged with criminal damage and handling stolen goods, as well as aiding or abetting the destruction of, or damage to, property valued over £5,000 after vandalising a camera.
TfL has passed a series of evidence to the Metropolitan Police which as now launched a 'proactive operation' to crack down on attacks.
The ULEZ expansion will cover all London boroughs and be introduced from 29th August. Non-compliant vehicles will need to pay a £12.50 daily charge to enter the zone.
But there have been huge frustrations with many saying public consultations have been ignored or tampered with while it was also revealed his office ordered the necessary cameras for the expansion before the consultation had even taken place.
And some Londoners have now started stealing the cameras in protest with one group of activists saying they will remove 'every single one'. A member of the group claims to have taken down 34 himself – a big claim but barely a dent in the 1,400 camera network.
Detective Superintendent Daniel Smith, whose officers are leading the investigation into the damages, said: 'We have been proactively targeting those we suspect of causing or seeking to cause damage.
'We are carrying out a thorough investigation and this includes gathering CCTV, speaking to potential witnesses and following up active leads.
'We are also working with TfL to prevent further offences in the future.'
Police have asked anyone with information that could assist them in their investigation to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 4279/10MAY.’