Meet 'Risky' Phil, the UK's leading anti-ULEZ campaigner

They telephone him the feline herder – the idiosyncratic who brings unneurotic radical heading disconnected successful antithetic directions but who fundamentally stock the aforesaid aim.

And successful the days starring up to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expanding to screen each of Greater London, Phil Elliott was doing a batch of herding.

The laminitis of UK Unites, a 3000-member run radical that aims to “unite arsenic galore radical crossed the UK to basal up against unjust, undemocratic and unnecessary governmental interference”, was talking to maine astatine his location successful Lincolnshire, caller from organising a large protestation against the ULEZ expansion.

I had archetypal met Elliott a fewer days earlier astatine Rykas cafe, adjacent Dorking, Surrey. It’s fashionable with bikers and I had ridden determination to bask a java portion admiring the machinery.

To my amazement, alternatively of the accustomed clusters of bikers, determination were hundreds of them gathered successful beforehand of an aged London bus. I rapidly saw why. On its side, banners and signs read: ‘Stop ULEZ’, ‘Stop Khan’, ‘No 2 ULEZ’, ‘Our Roads, Our Freedom’.

Arranged astir the motorcycle park, I counted 12 vans covered successful specified governmental slogans. One of them had a coffin connected its extortion bearing the sanction ‘Khan’. On 1 broadside of it was an representation of a rocket bearing the message: ‘To Sadiq Khan and the BBC, with emotion from the anti-ULEZ groups’.

A radical astatine the rear of the autobus addressed the crowd. It included Howard Cox, Reform UK’s campaigner for London mayor, who, to roars of approval, assured the assembled bikers that helium would marque London “the astir motorcycle-friendly metropolis successful the world”; and Lembit Öpik, erstwhile Liberal Democrat MP and present spokesperson for the Motorcycle Action Group, who stoked the assemblage further with an onslaught connected Khan and the ULEZ expansion.

“It could travel down to the thousands of america present to halt him,” helium said, and – alert that bikes indispensable fulfill astatine slightest Euro 3 emissions regulations, successful unit from 2007, oregon look a £12.50 complaint for entering London – the assemblage again roared its approval. (Petrol cars indispensable fulfill astatine slightest Euro 4, successful unit since 2005, and diesel cars Euro 6, successful unit since 2015.)

After the speeches, Cox seized the microphone to convey a chap lasting alongside him successful a hi-vis vest, saying: “Now springiness a large acknowledgment to Risky Phil, who organised today’s gathering and the others starring up to it elsewhere astir the M25.”

The taxable of the congratulations urged everyone contiguous to “keep up the bully fight” earlier stepping disconnected the autobus and melting into the crowd.

I recognised him arsenic 1 of the guys who had earlier waved maine into the car park. Aspiring mayors and erstwhile parliamentarians aside, was Risky Phil the existent powerfulness down the anti-ULEZ run and others fought connected behalf of disgruntled drivers and bikers down the years?

I had to know, which is how, a fewer days later, I recovered myself astatine Elliott’s home. I was keen to perceive his story, but archetypal I wanted to cognize why, surviving truthful acold from London, helium was truthful worked up astir the ULEZ.

“Because radical who unrecorded present and whose cars don’t conscionable the ULEZ regs but who person driven down to London connected concern oregon to spot friends and household person told maine that, earlier the strategy adjacent goes live, they’ve received letters from Transport for London [TfL] informing them that it’s happening and that if they participate the portion erstwhile it has been expanded, they volition beryllium charged,” helium explained.

“It’s outrageous that TfL is tracking radical and wasting taxpayers’ wealth penning to them.”

Later, a TfL spokesperson confirmed that betwixt February and July, the organisation sent much than 1 cardinal informing letters to motorists its cameras saw driving non-compliant cars successful Greater London. However, they wouldn’t uncover astatine what cost, connected the grounds that the accusation was “commercially sensitive” to the DVLA, which posted them.

Elliott’s crusade against politicians who helium believes are interfering with his and others’ lives goes backmost to 2008, erstwhile London’s Low Emission Zone was implemented to cleanable up diesel-powered commercialized vehicles.

“I was surviving successful London and moving a truck-recovery business,” helium explained. “The caller regulations threatened my work. I tried to combat back, but cipher was listening and my concern yet folded, due to the fact that I couldn’t spend to upgrade my truck.”

This acquisition near Elliott determined to propulsion backmost connected further incursions into people’s lives and livelihoods by what helium described as, to enactment it politely, meddlesome politicians, but it was the enlargement of the ULEZ and the menace of pay per mile arsenic a replacement for conveyance excise work and/or substance work that got him (and others) truly rattled.

On the information that I wouldn’t sanction names, helium showed maine the database of radical with whom helium shares a WhatsApp radical – chiefly fashionable societal media figures and campaigners from motoring and related fields, positive a fewer politicians.

Its intent seemed to beryllium to stock accusation and ideas. Nothing astir it was extreme, though immoderate members did person a whiff of the conspiracy theorist astir them.

This is an facet of Elliott’s statement that tin go a small wearing, but helium makes nary apologies.

“The quality betwixt the conspiracy mentation and the world is six months. One ever follows the other,” helium said. “The ULEZ is simply a money-raising exercise. You deliberation they volition halt erstwhile they've cleared the roads of older cars? They volition conscionable rise the barroom truthful that petrol cars indispensable beryllium astatine slightest Euro 5 and diesels Euro 7.”

Elliott is intelligent, articulate, a earthy organiser (“I get radical unneurotic and find wherever they stock communal ground”) and sensitive, too.

For example, helium recounted the communicative of a begetter with a disabled lad who changed his non-compliant van for a newer 1 that helium thought was compliant but proved not to be. “The caller van has dropped successful value, leaving him with a large debt,” said Elliott, genuinely concerned.

Hadn’t his protesting each been a discarded of time, though? The ULEZ enlargement was happening and adjacent the RAC had advised those London councils that were resisting erecting ULEZ signs to “give in” truthful drivers could beryllium fixed capable warning.

“Not astatine all,” insisted Elliott. “Khan won’t beryllium politician forever, and what I telephone the Titanic infinitesimal – that spot successful the movie erstwhile the skipper realised his vessel wasn’t unsinkable aft each – is accelerated approaching. Londoners and anyone entering the ULEZ are astir to person their Titanic moment.”