Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (Image: Getty)

       The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has defended the decision to expand the city’s controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

       The scheme, which was extended to cover all of Greater London on Tuesday, sees drivers of the most polluting and older vehicles charged ￡12.50 a day.

       The move has provoked a backlash both in London itself and bordering areas of Essex, Kent and Surrey - with some councils refusing to allow ULEZ signs to be put up on their roads.

       However Mr Khan has defended the decision, saying that air pollution causes more than 4,000 premature deaths in London a year according to Government figures.

       Writing in the Observer, he pointed out that ULEZ had been conceived by former Conservative mayor Boris Johnson and said Tory opposition to the expansion was “everything to do with their desperate attempts to cling to power by trying to weaponise green issues”.

       READ MORE: Croydon ULEZ vandals saw and pull down entire lamp post to knock out cameras

       Protesters against the expanded ULEZ (Image: Getty)

       He added: “The Conservatives have overseen 13 years of decline – with soaring rents and mortgages, devastated public services, sky-high bills and the highest tax burden on working people in a generation. They have nothing to offer.

       “That’s why they are desperate to confect a bogus war on the motorist. Division is both their strategy and overriding priority.”

       The mayor explained that nine out of 10 cars driven in outer London on an average day were compliant with the scheme and drivers would not have to pay as a result.

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       ULEZ cameras have been vandalised (Image: Getty)

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       Despite this, opposition to the expansion is fierce, with the Metropolitan Police logging 222 reports of crimes relating to ULEZ cameras in the month leading to the expansion.

       The figures include approximately 159 reports of cameras being stolen and 351 cameras being damaged.

       The actual number of cameras affected may be higher as a single report can represent multiple offences.

       Related articles Drivers warned of heavy airport fees under new ULEZ laws ULEZ charges night-workers twice on same shift, Khan warned UK motorists to be hit by new rules this month - list of driving law changes Hampton Court Palace shares cheeky method for its customers to avoid ULEZ One in four of Sadiq Khan's hated ULEZ cameras already wrecked or stolen