Police officers made to pay congestion charge is ‘slap in the face’
A decision to make police officers pay the re-imposed London congestion charge when other key workers are exempt has been described as a “slap in the face”.
Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said officers should not be “penalised” for travelling to their shifts.
The £11.50 daily levy for people driving into central London was suspended on March 23 when the lockdown was announced.
But it was reintroduced on Monday as part of a billion-pound government bailout to secure emergency funding for Transport for London (TfL) so underground and bus services could be kept running until September.
Next month the fee will rise to £15 and the hours of operation will be extended.
The congestion charge reimbursement scheme remains for NHS staff, ambulance staff and care home workers because there is a “greater need for them to travel to work by car to reduce the risk of them coming into contact with others, having been exposed to potentially high levels of infection”, according to the office of the Mayor of London.
A decision to make police officers pay the re-imposed London congestion charge when other key workers are exempt has been described as a “slap in the face”.
Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said officers should not be “penalised” for travelling to their shifts.
The £11.50 daily levy for people driving into central London was suspended on March 23 when the lockdown was announced.
But it was reintroduced on Monday as part of a billion-pound government bailout to secure emergency funding for Transport for London (TfL) so underground and bus services could be kept running until September.
Next month the fee will rise to £15 and the hours of operation will be extended.
The congestion charge reimbursement scheme remains for NHS staff, ambulance staff and care home workers because there is a “greater need for them to travel to work by car to reduce the risk of them coming into contact with others, having been exposed to potentially high levels of infection”, according to the office of the Mayor of London.
