Ulez wardens are wearing balaclavas after Blade Runners shamed them online

Wardens policing Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) are now wearing balaclavas after Blade Runners shamed them on TikTok, The Telegraph can reveal. The Labour Mayor of London has rolled out mobile automatic number plate vans (ANPR) in an attempt to prevail over the vigilantes determined to sabotage the green scheme. #Ulez #bladerunners #London The vans are being deployed on roads in outer London boroughs in the newly expanded zone, where older vehicles are charged £ a day, but activists have been painting over camera lenses, deflating tyres and boxing them in with larger vans or placards to stop them catching motorists. Now, as the guerrilla warfare blighting the capital escalates further, the wardens manning the vans on behalf of Transport for London (TfL) have begun donning balaclavas to cover their faces. Critics of the scheme have called it “daylight robbery“ for taxpayers, as TfL is paying officials undisclosed sums to operate the vans and security guards to follow behind in cars. This newspaper has uncovered evidence of numerous Ulez van staff wearing black coverings over their faces and dark tinted glasses while on duty, brandishing energy drinks and mobile phones. It follows weeks of viral clashes being filmed for the social media app TikTok, where anti-Ulez activists, who call themselves Blade Runners, have targeted van crews who then call the police, run away from angry locals and engage in heated arguments. Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: Get the latest headlines: and are websites of The Telegraph, the UK’s best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.