Government to ban all new diesel and petrol cars

The government is set to ban all new diesel and petrol cars from 2040, in a bid to tackle air pollution.

The Government is due to publish a clean air strategy, setting aside £255 million to help councils deal with pollution from diesel vehicles.

There will be a £3billion spend on air quality in total.

France has currently announced similar precautions.

A government spokesman said: “Poor air quality is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK and this government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible.

“That is why we are providing councils with new funding to accelerate development of local plans, as part of an ambitious £3 billion programme to clean up dirty air around our roads.

“Our plan to deal with dirty diesels will help councils clean up emissions hotspots – often a single road – through common sense measures which do not unfairly penalise ordinary working people.

“Diesel drivers are not to blame and, to help them switch to cleaner vehicles, the Government will consult on a targeted scrappage scheme, one of a number of measures to support motorists affected by local plans.”