High Court to consider Government appeal to delay air strategy

The Government faced a deadline of April 24 to publish its plan

Ministers had been given until 4pm on Monday to set out draft measures on reducing illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution, after the courts ruled existing plans to meet EU-mandated air quality limits were not sufficient.

But in a surprise move on Friday night, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) lodged an application with the High Court to postpone publication of the draft clean air plan until after the June 8 poll.

Defra said a delay is necessary in order to comply with “purdah” rules on government announcements during the election period, but the move prompted critics to accuse the Government of “pure political expediency” in missing the deadline.

It is understood the High Court will hold a hearing on Thursday morning into the Government’s application to delay its publication.

James Thornton, chief executive of environmental law firm ClientEarth which originally brought the case over the Government’s failings on air pollution, said it would attend the hearing and was preparing a response to the application.

“Urgent action is required to protect people’s health from the illegal and poisonous air that we are forced to breathe in the UK,” he said.

“This is a matter for the court to decide once the Government has made its arguments because it is the Government which has not met... the court’s deadline for the clean air plan.”