Now, I would never be one to encourage civil disobedience or applaud outright vandalism…but. Well.
The niceties aside, this is pretty damn funny. You push people far enough – as London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the U.K. NetZero climate cultists have been doing unrelentingly – and, if there’s any fight left in them at all, eventually, people will push back.
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Maybe even get snippy about it.
A ‘Blade Runner’ was seen sabotaging two of Sadiq Khan’s much-hated ULEZ cameras as nearby diners nonchalantly watched on.
A member from the secret activist group can be seen in a video purposefully walking into view and hoisting what appears to be a tree lopper in the air.
The hooded masked figure then strolls towards the ULEZ camera attached to a traffic light believed to be outside The Swan and Mitre Greene King pub in Bromley, south-east London, and snips the cable.
One woman smoking a cigarette looks around at the dark-clothed figure before carrying on with her conversation, while a bearded man with sunglasses on his head films the vandalism on his phone.
The camera then pans to the left as the Blade Runner casually walks to another ULEZ camera less than 300 feet away – opposite Bromley Magistrates’ Court – and uses the gardening tool to cut the wire which then can be seen dangling.
I’m pretty sure these guys are feeling Robin Hood-ish, especially when they’re out about their vandalism with no attempts to hide what they’re doing. It would seem to have the tacit approval of everyone in the immediate area, as no one is yelling “Stop! Thief!” or pointing an accusing finger with a “Drop that camera, whippersnapper.”
They’ve made an impression – Scotland Yard is on the case.
…The secretive Ulez Blade Runners are an activist group that has vowed to remove ‘every single one’ of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras used within the Ulez.
The cameras are designed to catch out drivers in vehicles that do not meet the standards required in the Ulez, and must pay a fee.
Speaking to MailOnline, one member of the Blade Runners said he had stolen 34 ULEZ cameras, and that he was part of a group of more than 100 people covering different areas across London.
…Following a spate of attacks, Scotland Yard has launched ‘Operation Eremon’ to investigate the vandalism, according to ITV.
A spokesperson from the Met Police told the publication they were aware of a social media video claiming to show stolen and vandalised Ulez cameras.
Detective Superintendent Daniel Smith said: ‘We are continuing to proactively target anyone we suspect of causing or seeking to cause damage to these cameras.
I’m figuring this is the video the Detective Superintendent’s referring to.
The ever expanding Ulez in London has had Brits seeing red for quite some time. They’ve tried to mollify citizens who have non-compliant vehicles by offering £2000 credit for those who want to “scrap” their older cars and trade up (kind of a crappy Cash-for-Clunkers idea, which was a crappy idea in itself).
Many drivers will be charged daily Ulez fees ‘for quite some time’ because London’s car scrappage scheme is not being extended until eight days before its launch.
The RAC, which issued the warning, described the timings as ‘extremely frustrating’.
The area covered by the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) scheme will be significantly expanded on August 29 to include the whole of outer London.
People entering the zone with vehicles which do not meet minimum emissions standards are charged £12.50 per day.
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But Khan says as far as backing off the £12.50/day fines? Fuggedaboudit. He’s determined to be saving the planet and all that
…Mr Khan said: ‘I’m not prepared to step back, delay or water down green policies like Ulez, which will not only save lives and protect children’s lungs by cleaning up polluted air but help us to fight the climate crisis.
He’s going to have to start charging more and expand the London ULEZ ring to pay for the…uh…camera virus going around. Authorities now believe they have a pilfer-proof, Blade Runner baffling new camera to deploy and they’re stringing them up.
Security measures are being beefed up on ULEZ cameras in a battle to stop ‘Blade Runners’ from cutting wires, MailOnline can reveal today.
Pictures and footage have emerged on TikTok and Facebook of a black metal box surrounding the cables in an apparent move to protect the wiring.
A total of 2,750 new ANPR cameras are planned to be installed as the date for Sadiq Khan’s hated Ultra-low emission zone expansion looms. So far almost 1,900 are in place, but it is not known how many have the new defence mechanism in place.
British Big Brother is alive and well, no? Yeesh.
Best of luck to Khan getting a handle on it.