Sadiq Khan denies cover-up over unlawful speeding fines

Sadiq Khan has denied that he was involved in a cover-up over an “unlawful” change to a road’s speed limit which caused thousands of drivers to be fined.

Officials from Transport for London (TfL) temporarily reduced a speed limit on the A20 leading from Sidcup in southeast London to Swanley in Kent from 70mph to 40mph in 2023. The speed was reduced for a year, while work was completed to make the street safer.

But in the first six weeks of the new limit, it’s believed over 60,000 people were caught speeding and hit with a fine. In total, £6.6 million was raised from fines. Many people accepted the £100 penalty, The Telegraph reported, but some argued that there was not enough signage announcing the new limit.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had previously resisted calls for an inquiry into the fines. But at a recent acquittal for one driver at Kingston Crown Court, documents showed that a TfL employee signed off on the speed change without having the formal authority to implement the change. This means the speed restriction was technically unenforceable.

Assembly members and driver advocacy groups have argued that drivers who faced fines, penalty points, or lost driver's licenses deserve a review of how the traffic regulation orders were handled.

The Telegraph reported that Thomas Turrell, the London Assembly Conservatives’ transport spokesman, said: “The calls for an independent investigation into this fiasco are now irresistible: the truth must out, and heads must roll if they are found to have knowingly tried to pervert the course of justice in this case.”

A spokesman for the Mayor of London told The Telegraph: “It is incorrect to suggest that the Mayor or TfL misled anybody in relation to these fines, and TfL remain confident that enforcement of the speed limit here was necessary given the safety risks.

“No wrongdoing was alleged by the court, traffic regulation orders were made lawfully, and all TfL staff acted in accordance with authorisation.”

Meanwhile, a TfL spokesperson told The Telegraph that the Crown Court case “does not set a binding precedent on any other cases”. But the spokesperson added: “We will be supporting the Metropolitan Police in resisting the upcoming appeals.

“Safety is our number one priority and we temporarily introduced a 40mph speed limit on the A20 Sidcup Road in response to a number of serious incidents caused by ongoing flooding issues, which posed a risk to life.”