ULEZ ads made ‘misleading’ London pollution claims, watchdog rules
Adverts for the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) made claims which were “likely to mislead” about pollution levels across London and inside cars, a watchdog has found.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it had received complaints about claims in a radio ad commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) on levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
TfL, which runs ULEZ, said NO2 levels had reduced by almost half as a result of the scheme – but the watchdog said these were not based on measurements of air quality taken before and after it was implemented.
Instead, TfL based its claim on calculating the difference between current air quality measurements and a “non-ULEZ scenario”, but without qualifying this for listeners and likely misleading them, the ASA found.
The ASA also upheld complaints about claims in a second TfL ad on how most deaths related to air pollution “actually” occurred in outer London, when this was in fact based on modelled estimates.
The ASA said the ad was likely to mislead listeners because it did not explain the basis of the claim.
File pic: PA
In a separate ruling, the ASA found a claim made in a radio ad by the Greater London Authority (GLA) which stated “according to research, one of the most polluted places in London is inside your car” was misleading.
The ASA said evidence provided by the GLA did establish car users were exposed to air pollution when inside their vehicle and it could be higher than when using other forms of transport.
However, the GLA had not directly compared pollution inside a car in London with other locations around the city, meaning it had not been adequately substantiated and was likely to mislead listeners.
The ASA said it received a total of 504 complaints about six TfL ads for ULEZ and 38 complaints about the GLA ad, only some of which were upheld.
The ULEZ is a flagship policy of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has insisted it is “vital”.
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September 2023: ‘ULEZ vital to protect lives’
TfL said it was “disappointed” with the ASA’s ruling, adding how scientific analysis based on modelled scenarios and estimates was “standard practice” in the scientific community and central government.
A TfL spokeswoman added: “The ASA did not challenge the science. Its ruling centres around a minor technical point in some ads.
“It is also clear from robust scientific assessment that the central London ULEZ was key to almost halving the nitrous oxide emissions in the original ULEZ area.”
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In November, a new independent analysis revealed air quality in London had improved since the introduction of the first low-emission zone in the capital in 2008.
A team from the University of Bath said the launch of the scheme 15 years ago – and the subsequent introduction of ULEZ in 2019 – helped reduce particulate matter in Greater London by 13% between 2008 and 2013, compared to 2003 to 2007.
A judo Olympian has said her family is “devastated” after the discovery of body in the search for her missing brother.
Lubjana Piovesana, 28, appealed for help to find her younger sibling, Luis, 26, on Saturday. He had not been seen since the early hours of Friday morning.
A body was found in the River Frome near Napier Road in Eastville, Bristol, at around 6pm today, Avon and Somerset Police said.
Formal identification is yet to take place, the force added.
In a post on Instagram, Ms Piovesana wrote: “Hello everyone, Luis has been found.
“We are completely devastated but he has passed away.
“I am grateful for everyone’s support. And I am so sorry this happened.
“Luis was my little brother and loved by everyone. I wish he could have seen the love from everyone. He will be remembered by us all.”
The post was signed off with a dove emoji.
Luis Piovesana did not have any money or his mobile phone with him when he went missing, police said. Pics: Avon & Somerset Police
Mr Piovesana was last seen at around 3am on Friday at the Eastgate retail park, which is less than a 10-minute walk away from where the body was found.
He had travelled there by taxi from a venue in Little Ann Street, St Jude’s, a 10-minute drive away.
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The 26-year-old’s family spent the weekend searching for him, and asked people to check their sheds and gardens.
His partner, Laurin Bohler, said loved ones had travelled from Birmingham to help.
Mounted officers and police drones were also involved in the investigation.
Ms Piovesana competed for Team GB before switching to the Austrian team, and defeated British competitor Lucy Renshall in the women’s -63kg judo event at the Paris Olympics last year.
A man has been jailed for life for murdering his son’s girlfriend after she returned home from the school run.
Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police were called to an address on Bigyn Road in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, on 5 July last year.
Sophie Evans, 30, had sustained 72 separate injuries on the outside of the body, “all but three of them new injuries”.
Richard Jones, who is now 50, believed he was “being taken advantage of financially” by Ms Evans and his son, with whom she was in a relationship.
While the purpose of Jones’s visit was “purely normal”, he confronted her on that morning about his suspicions and Ms Evans’s reaction was such that Jones “lost [his] temper”.
He subjected Ms Evans to “gross violence” before ultimately strangling her and leaving the property to run errands, including ordering a new bank card and buying pastries from a bakery.
Richard Jones. Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police
‘Last time on their school run’
During sentencing on Monday, the defendant kept his head bowed for most of the hearing.
He will have to serve at least 20 years behind bars before he can be considered for release by the parole board.
Swansea Crown Court heard Ms Evans was the mother of two young children.
Passing his sentence, Judge Geraint Walters said Ms Evans “had just taken her two children for the last time on their school run” prior to the attack.
“She wasn’t to know that when she parted company with them that morning,” he added.
The court heard the Jones believed he was being defrauded by Ms Evans and his son.
“There is clear evidence, that in the days leading up to this, that you had begun harbouring thoughts that Sophie Evans and your own son were in fact financially scamming you,” he said.
“What precisely brought about that view is difficult to determine.”
Judge Walters said Jones “lost [his] temper when [he] didn’t get the answer that [he] thought [he] deserved”.
He added that, having lost his temper, the defendant “subjected [Ms Evans] to gross violence over a period of time, before you ultimately extinguished her life by strangulation”.
The court was told in evidence that at the time of the attack, Ms Evans was wearing only a bath towel.
‘The rock of our family’
In a victim personal statement, Ms Evans’s sister Kerry Quinlan told the court she was “the rock of our family”.
She said Ms Evans was taken from them in a “senseless and cruel act”.
“Words cannot express fully how much of a loss this has been to her children,” she added.
“When they cry themselves to sleep wanting their mum, she isn’t there and never will be.”
Ms Quinlan added that Jones had “taken everything from us, all in the most despicable way possible”.
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Ms Evans’s partner at the time, and the defendant’s son, Jamie Davies, said in a victim personal statement, read on his behalf, that they had both “trusted” Jones, and that Ms Evans had even been planning the defendant’s 50th birthday.
“The thought of having to live my life without Sophie causes me extreme pain and heartache,” he added.
Prosecuting, Michael Jones KC said the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s previous convictions and the fact Ms Evans was murdered in her home.
In mitigation, David Elias KC said there was a “lack of premeditation”.
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