London's war on diesel: Drivers face tax triple whammy as mayor Sadiq Khan plans £12.50-a-day capital pollution charge on top of congestion charge, parking rate hikes and road tax rise

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan, pictured last week in Paris, has introduced a daily £12.50 fee on vehicles using the fuel - on top of the capital's current £11.50 congestion charge

Diesel drivers are facing a triple tax whammy after London Mayor Sadiq Khan revealed plans for a daily £24 fee on vehicles using the fuel.

Mr Khan said he was bringing forward the launch of a new toxicity 'T-charge' covering the existing congestion charge zone from 7am to 6pm on weekdays to October 2017.

Under the scheme drivers will be forced to pay a daily £12.50 fee on vehicles using the fuel - on top of already paying the capital's current £11.50 congestion charge. 

But the new charge has come under fire as it is only expected to lead to a small cut in toxic fumes. 

Mr Khan's plans will then see the T-charge replaced in 2019 with an ultra-low emissions zone that will ban diesel cars not meeting new emissions limits from the centre of London, with fines for anyone not meeting the standard. 

But when asked what proportion of the lethal fumes come from private vehicles the mayor could not give a specific answer, and instead said: 'We think half comes from vehicles and my plans will see a 50% reduction in NO2 in 2020.' 

The plans will be followed by a further consultation later this year on extending it London-wide to heavy goods vehicles from 2020 and to inner London for all vehicles from 2021.

But Howard Cox of the FairFuelUK campaign said: 'Hard working drivers and small businesses are being bullied by draconian policies from out of touch politicians, unqualified to solve the emissions issue.

'Reacting to controversial green agendas, they've thoughtlessly declared war on diesel drivers entering and parking in cities using knee jerk cash grabs that may be made worse by a Budget hike in Fuel Duty.' 

Mr Khan also claimed he was 'determined' to act to improve the air quality in London, but added that the Government needs to do more as well.

'The air in London is lethal. Each year more than 9,000 Londoners die because of our poor quality air,' he claimed.

Ministers have come under fire after spending years recommending that motorists should buy diesel cars

'There are children in parts of London whose lungs are under-developed and adults have all sorts of health problems from asthma to lung problems, from suffering heart attacks to strokes and dementia. I am not willing to stand by and do nothing.

'I am cleaning up our buses. I am ensuring our taxis are clean. I am introducing the world's first ultra low emission zone, but the Government needs to do much, much more if we are going to fix the air in London and across the country.' 

This graphic shows the amount diesel drivers will pay under the plans compared to car owners who drive petrol and electric vehicles

It is just the latest in a string of 'toxin taxes' which could also see motorists slapped with levies of up to £20 a day in dozens of cities across England amid a Government crackdown on vehicles that cause air pollution.

Councils are separately planning to punish diesel drivers by charging them up to 50 per cent more for parking compared to petrol cars.

Yet while the Government is clamping down on diesel, under current Vehicle Excise Duty bands drivers of those vehicles generally pay less - because the cars emit less CO2 despite producing other dangerous fumes. 

The raft of measures come despite ministers spending years urging motorists to buy diesel cars in the mistaken belief that they were better for the environment.

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, told MailOnline: 'Punishing millions of motorists for mistakes in past government policy is pathologically unfair and dishonest.' 

But scientists are now claiming that the fuel creates four times more NO2 and 22 times more particulates - tiny particles that penetrate human lungs and hearts.

Now motorists are facing a major clampdown - with at least 15 towns and cities across England set to bring in increased parking fees.

It comes in addition to bans on diesel vehicles in peak hours or daily charges in 35 towns and cities.

In up to 10 of the areas hit worst by pollution private cars could face the measures while in the remaining 25 commercial vehicles will be the main target.

Affected areas include Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby, which already have plans to impose 'toxin taxes' on older motors starting in 2019 - but those could extend the taxes to diesel cars as well.

RAC roads policy spokesman Nick Lyes said: 'Every motorist who uses the capital's roads needs to be ready for some pretty big changes that are coming up as London acts to cut harmful emissions which will either hit drivers in the pocket or force them to rethink their choice of vehicle.'

According to a report released by doctors last year 40,000 people in Britain die early each year because of outdoor air pollution - a significant increase on the previous estimate of 29,000.

The Government has repeatedly been taken to court over its failure to meet EU standards on air pollution and has admitted it might not meet the rules in London and some other cities until 2025. 

Under current Vehicle Excise Duty bands drivers of diesel vehicles generally pay less - because the cars emit less CO2 despite producing other dangerous fumes

London already plans on charging diesel and petrol vehicles a £10 'T-charge' when they enter central London in peak periods starting on October 23.

A basic £10 congestion charge for all vehicles will also be imposed.

Drivers in London would be facing up to £20 charges every day under the aforementioned plans.

Under plans by environment secretary Angela Leadsom, which would extend pollution payments to several other cities, 'clean air zones' will be set up to ban particular vehicles.

It comes after the Volkswagen emissions scandal in which the German car maker was found to have rigged tests to make it appear its diesel motors emit less nitrogen dioxide than they do.

Once on the road the cars produced NOx pollutants at up to 40 times the legal standard.

Roughly 11 million cars worldwide are affected – 10 per cent of which are in Britain. These include Audis, Skodas and Seat badges.

New diesel cars from manufacturers including Renault, Hyundai, Citroen, Fiat, Volvo have been found to allegedly produce more emissions when tested in realistic driving conditions, according to data from Europe's biggest motoring organisation.

Only a quarter of the 79 different cars tested by Adac matched their official performance on the existing EU test.

The results show the Volvo S60, Renault's Espace Energy and the Jeep Renegade all exceeded legal European limits for nitrogen oxide by more than 10 times.

There is no suggestion any of the other manufacturers used devices to cheat the testing process.