Porsche launches protest petition

The new charge will be introduced in October

Luxury carmaker Porsche has launched an online petition to back its case for a judicial review against a plan to tax 'gas guzzlers' in central London.

London mayor Ken Livingstone said the Porsche campaign showed what was at stake for Londoners who care about the environment, on Mayoral polling day.

The mayor plans to bring in a �25 congestion charge for vehicles with the highest carbon emissions.

Porsche said they would present their protest petition to the mayor later.

'Wrong message'

On its website, Porsche urge people who consider the proposed charge unfair to write to newspapers and the mayor, letting him know their opposition.

The planned charge, the company says, sends "out the wrong message about what sort of a city London is whilst having no meaningful benefit on the environment."

The mayor said: "The launch of a Porsche website and online petition shows the stakes for London on 1 May, with a major luxury motor manufacturer trying to block steps to reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming."

The new charges are due to come into force on 27 October.

Transport for London estimates about 33,000 vehicles that will fall into the new �25 charge sector drive into London each day.

It predicts about two-thirds of these will no longer come into the charge zone once the new fee is introduced.

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