A retired electrical engineer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of bombing an Ultra-Low Emission Zone camera in Sidcup, Kent, using a homemade explosive device.
Kevin Rees, 64, was sentenced by Judge Anthony Bate at the Old Bailey on Friday after being found guilty of causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, and three counts of possessing a prohibited weapon — a collection of homemade taser-like stun guns. Rees denied all the charges against him.
The court heard that Rees ran Facebook groups opposing the rollout of ULEZ cameras, the network of surveillance equipment enforcing London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s scheme requiring owners of older, more polluting vehicles to pay a daily charge to drive in and around the capital. Opponents have long argued the charge falls hardest on working tradesmen who depend on diesel vans and cannot easily switch to public transport for carrying tools and materials.
The scheme has spawned widespread sabotage campaigns, including groups calling themselves ‘blade runners’ who cut cables or felled camera posts, often within hours of installation. Hundreds of cameras across London have been damaged this way.
Rees’s case went further than cable-cutting. The court heard he used an improvised explosive device to destroy a ULEZ camera in Sidcup on 6 December 2023, according to court reporting service Court News UK. The blast was powerful enough to damage nearby vehicles and homes.
Prosecutors told the court:
