UK government seeks to delay release of clean air proposals
The UK government has been criticised for attempting to further delay the publication of its clean air plan. Mary Creagh, chair of the parliamentary environment audit committee, and Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the UK’s Green Party, said the government was attempting to bully judges by applying to breach the 4pm Monday deadline for stronger draft measures against nitrogen dioxide pollution, largely from diesel traffic, because of the general election. The government, whose original plans have been dismissed as unlawfully weak, is now asking to submit the drafts in June. Air pollution in the UK causes 40,000 deaths each year.
The government has been accused of “running scared” of diesel drivers and attempting to bully judges over its last-minute bid to delay the publication of its clean air plan.

Politicians and environmental groups said ministers were “hiding behind the election” to justify delaying publication of the government’s long awaited proposals instead of tackling the UK’s air pollution crisis. Health experts warned the lack of government action had potentially put thousands of lives at risk.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It is frankly outrageous that the government thinks it can continue to bury its head in the sand about the serious health impacts of air quality in London and across the country. The prime minister has once again missed this golden opportunity to show real leadership in tackling and improving the air we breathe, which should have been done well before the pre-election period.”

The government had been under a court direction to produce tougher draft measures to tackle illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution, which is largely caused by diesel traffic, by 4pm on Monday. The original plans had been dismissed by judges as so poor as to be unlawful.



But after the announcement by Theresa May of a general election on 8 June, ministers lodged a lengthy application to the court late on Friday. It asked judges to allow them to breach the Monday deadline to “comply with pre-election propriety rules”.



Andrea Leadsom, the environment secretary, was summoned to parliament on Monday to answer urgent questions.

Cabinet Office guidance says that purdah rules can be lifted in exceptional circumstances, including for consultations on safeguarding public health.

During the debate, Leadsom was asked if she considered toxic air to be an “emergency” – as it was blamed for up to 40,000 early deaths every year. In reply she acknowledged only that it was a “very significant and urgent concern”, refusing to use the word “emergency”.

She said she was “personally deeply committed to the importance of ensuring clean air” but had been told by officials in the Cabinet Office that it would breach purdah rules to publish the plans in the run-up to the election.

The government has applied to publish draft plans on 30 June followed by the full policy in September, she said.

Leadsom, who also revealed that it was the second application to delay publication that her department had submitted to the courts, insisted the move would not postpone the roll out of the proposals.



Sue Hayman, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, said the government’s actions were unacceptable. “The situation has gone from bad to worse on this government’s watch and has now escalated into what the Defra committee calls an public health emergency.

“It is unacceptable to hide behind the election to delay publishing her plans. Cabinet Office rules are clear that purdah is not an excuse to delay acting in vital public health matters.”

Mary Creagh, Labour chair of the Commons environment audit committee, said in a statement: “The government is trying to bully judges into backing off. Ministers should not be playing games with people’s health, especially children’s.”



The government’s plans are likely to include a package of measures to make diesel cars less popular. These could include a diesel scrappage scheme, a hike in vehicle excise duty for diesel vehicles, and possible congestion charging zones in some cities.

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green party, said the government’s failure to publish its plans suggested it was running scared of the diesel lobby and diesel drivers ahead of the election. She added ministers had “utterly failed to get a grip on the air pollution crisis”.

“[It] is now attempting to stitch up judges and cajole them into submission. Such blatant bullying is simply unacceptable.”

Lawyers from the environmental law group ClientEarth, which successfully took the government to court over its air quality plans, were still waiting to hear back from the court when Monday’s deadline passed.

James Thornton, the group’s CEO, said: “The unacceptable last-minute nature of the government’s application late on Friday night, after the court had closed, has meant that we have spent the weekend considering our response.

“We are still examining our next steps. This is a question of public health and not of politics and for that reason we believe that the plans should be put in place without delay.”

The next move is in the hands of the judges in the case. It is thought likely that in the next few days they will ask ClientEarth to respond to the government’s application. A hearing will then be called at which they will decide whether to back the government’s proposed delay.

The scale of the air pollution crisis was revealed in a joint Guardian-Greenpeace investigation this month showing hundreds of thousands of children were being educated within 150 metres of a road where levels of nitrogen dioxide from diesel traffic breached legal limits.



Last week figures obtained by Labour showed that more than 38 million people, representing 59.3% of the UK population, were living in areas where levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution were above legal limits.



Research consistently shows that exposure to traffic fumes is harmful to children and adults. Children are more vulnerable because their lungs are still developing and exposure to nitrogen dioxide reduces lung growth, causes long-term ill health and can result in premature death.

Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said potentially thousands of premature deaths may have been avoided if the government had acted sooner.

“The government’s failure to produce a new air quality plan aimed at reducing the nation’s toxic air is a huge disappointment. It has been two years since the first court case. It would be fair to say that the equivalent of 80,000 early deaths could have been reduced in this time.”

Nitrogen dioxide emissions from diesel traffic cause 23,500 of the 40,000 premature deaths from air pollution each year, according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). In April last year, MPs said air pollution was a public health emergency.



On Monday a Defra spokesman said: “We are seeking an extension to comply with pre-election propriety rules.”



