FAIRFUELUK DEMANDS INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO A20 SPEED LIMIT FINES

Motoring campaign group FairFuelUK has demanded an independent investigation into a temporary speed limit reduction on the A20 in London. London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan vetoed an independent inquiry into the restriction, which lowered the limit from 70mph to 40mph in October 2023. Campaigners state that the lowered limit resulted in penalties for more than 66,000 drivers and cost thousands of motorists their licences. FairFuelUK claims that those penalties generated more than £6.5 million in fines for Transport for London (TfL), the capital's transport authority, which Lord Khan chairs. Lord Khan and TfL deny any wrongdoing and maintain that they acted lawfully.

A court acquitted one motorist in October after examining a document regarding the implementation of the 40mph restriction. That document indicated that the official who signed the order to change the speed limit lacked the authority to do so. FairFuelUK urged Lord Khan to explain the circumstances surrounding the temporary restriction and to support a fully independent investigation. Howard Cox, the founder of FairFuelUK, said: "Motorists are expected to obey the law. They have every right to expect Sadiq Khan and TfL to do the same."

Mr Cox stated that road safety must always come first and that his organisation does not defend speeding. He said the dispute centres on due process, transparency, and whether authorities treated tens of thousands of drivers fairly. Mr Cox called on Lord Khan to clarify who authorised the restriction and whether officials imposed every penalty properly and lawfully. He added that what happened is "far too serious to be brushed aside" and demanded that motorists face no bureaucratic obstacle course if an inquiry establishes that officials wrongly fined them.