Sadiq Khan warns diesel cars could be BANNED in London to tackle the city’s ‘toxic air’ pollution

DIESEL cars could be barred from London to tackle the city’s “toxic air”, says Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Asked if he’d considered banning certain drivers from the city on certain days, the London Mayor said “nothing is off the table”.

It came as he blamed the owners of wood burning stoves for boosting air pollution by burning the “wrong” stuff in them.

Mr Khan said people needed to be educated what not to burn in the popular stoves after experts blamed them for a high air pollution alert last month.

He has already brought forward a £10 charge for motorists driving older, more polluting cars, starting from October 23.

But in an interview on ITV's Peston on Sunday, he hinted he could go further.

He said: “I want to address the issue of poor quality air 365 days a year, not only on those days where the air is dangerous.”

Pressed on the issue of a car ban on certain days, he said: “Well, nothing’s off the table.”

Quizzed on the impact of wood-burning stoves, Mr Khan added: “Well there’s an issue, I mean I issued the first ever very high air pollution alert a few weeks ago and the experts say one of the reasons was during that particular weekend lots of those stoves were being used.

“We’ve got to work with manufacturers to make sure the right sorts of stuff are being burnt in these stoves but you know one thing by itself won’t be enough, that’s why the Government has got to help me in cities around the country to address this massive issue.”

Air pollution is linked to 9,000 early deaths a year in London.

Mr Khan also suggested the Government should introduce a scrappage scheme for diesel vehicles and a clean air act to combat pollution.