Sadiq Khan confronted by LBC caller over ULEZ and benefits

       Sadiq Khan was confronted by an emotional LBC caller who said the ULEZ scheme had left her unable to afford food.

       Sarah from Croydon spoke to the London Mayor as he took part in a phone-in on presenter James O'Brien's show this morning.

       The mother-of-one said she had to leave her home under a no-fault eviction last year and has been living in emergency accommodation provided by the council since.

       Sarah said she does not get universal credit despite being a single parent as she has been told she earns too much, and that her housing benefit falls far short of covering her rent.

       She said: "Before I had ￡300 to ￡400 leftover for me to buy food and other essentials after my bills.

       "Now because of ULEZ and because I live so far I'm spending that ￡300 on ULEZ. So that means every single month I'm wiped out before I even start my month.

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       "I'm in perpetual overdraft and debt because I can't afford to feed myself, feed my daughter and even buy essentials. Right now I'm waiting for payday just to buy milk.

       "People like me are left out of the equation because the council says I earn too much, universal credit says I earn too much.

       "But you've got ULEZ that's come and taken my money that I had to buy these things, now I don't have anything."

       Mr Khan said he was "desperately sorry for the plight you're facing".

       On ULEZ, he added: "We've now increased the scrappage scheme so anybody in London is eligible now.

       "Forty-one thousand people have taken advantage of the scrappage scheme, many have bought new vehicles.

       "I'd encourage you to go to the TfL website to see what you're entitled to in relation to your car because that will reduce the pressures there are on you."

       But she questioned whether ￡2,000 from the scrappage scheme would be enough to buy a ULEZ-compliant car and said she still had ￡3,000 left to pay on her previous vehicle.

       Mr Khan said: "I say in a respectful way, you can get a ULEZ-complaint car for the amount of money available on the scrappage scheme.

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       "For those who have got finance I'm afraid you will have to speak to your finance company because different finance companies have different rules in relation to paying back the finance."

       The London Mayor came under fire for expanding the ULEZ from central London to cover the whole of the capital last August in a bid to boost air quality.

       It means more drivers are being forced to pay the ￡12.50 daily charge for the most polluting vehicles.

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