London mayor Sadiq Khan says cars should be banned from the roads near schools to reduce the toxic air breathed in by children.



Speaking to The Times, Khan compared politicians overlooking the health risks of air pollution to those who knew about the dangers of smoking 50 years ago but failed to take action.

“The reason why I’m so angry about this and it’s a priority for me is that the science and the evidence is unarguable and yet it appears the government is ignoring it.

“Forty or fifty years ago we thought smoking was bad and yet our forebears took no action. We know air quality is a killer, it makes you sick and no action has been taken. It’s a health emergency,” Khan said.

According to a recent study in the UK, tens of thousands of children in schools in the British capital are frequently exposed to illegal levels of air pollution that can permanently harm their health, reports the Evening Standard. Additionally, the report concluded that around 9,000 early deaths every year in London are caused by air pollution.

In some parts of the City of London as well as nearby borough Camden, traffic has already been banned from certain roads near schools and Kahn wants the remaining 30 boroughs to adopt similar laws.

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