Johnson drops pollution battle against Porsche

Matthew Taylor
The Guardian,
Tuesday July 8, 2008

London mayor Boris Johnson is to pay about £400,000 to Porsche after agreeing to scrap a plan to levy a £25 charge on the most polluting vehicles in the capital, it emerged last night.
The luxury sports car specialist had begun a legal challenge to the proposal, put forward by the former mayor, Ken Livingstone, earlier this year.
Yesterday Johnson withdrew the proposal, and a court ruled that the Greater London Authority should pay Porsche's legal costs. The company says that it will give the money to Skidz - a charity which offers youngsters training in mechanical skills and maintenance.
Last night Jenny Jones, Green party assembly member, said she was appalled by the decision. "This is a mayor who is telling us he wants to see value for money, and to account for every penny, and here he is paying one of the richest car companies in the world hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money."
A spokesman for Johnson said the mayor was required to cover Porsche's legal fees after agreeing not to contest its original challenge, adding it was the "most cost effective way" to end the scheme.
Johnson said he was pleased Porsche had decided to give the money to charity. "[This] is a generous decision and I am delighted that Skidz will use the money to offer training for young people in the capital," he said. However, Jones said this was unacceptable: "People may, quite understandably, want to see their money spent on things that they voted for."
In February Porsche announced it would take Livingstone to court over charging drivers of the most polluting types of vehicles £25 each time they entered central London. The German firm argued that the rise, due to come into force in October, was "unfair and disproportionate". Throughout his mayoral campaign Johnson said he would scrap the CO2 charge, which he said would hit families and small businesses.