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A draft plan to tackle air pollution will finally be published within the next week, after No 10 said it would not challenge a court ruling forcing the government to release information before the election.

Theresa May’s official spokesman said the government would not be appealing the high court judgement, which rejected attempts by ministers to keep the policy under wraps until after the poll.

This means the government will have to publish its draft air quality plan before May 9, but No 10 said it will want to wait until after the purdah period for the local elections is over on Thursday.

The strategy will set out how ministers plan to tackle the UK’s air pollution crisis, which is believed to be responsible for 40,000 premature deaths a year.

New measures are likely to include the imposition of multiple clean-air zones across the country, where drivers will face fines if their vehicles do not pass roadside emissions tests.

Ministers had applied to the court to keep their plans secret until after the general election, saying it was necessary to “comply with pre-election propriety rules”.

But Mr Justice Garnham said the environment secretary, Andrea Leadsom, was in breach of a court order to take action in the shortest possible time and that any further delays would constitute a further breach.