Lord Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has more than tripled the number of miles subject to 20mph speed limits on roads under his control, according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws.
The figures show that in 2021 there were just 50 miles of 20mph zones on roads controlled by Transport for London (TfL), which Lord Khan chairs. That figure had jumped to 166 miles as of March this year.
It means nearly half of the roads across Greater London under Lord Khan's control are now 20mph zones. He has control over around 360 miles of highways across the region, which covers 600 square miles and borders the Home Counties. Most of the roads were set at 30mph before being lowered.
Critics said the disclosure was the latest proof of Labour's 'war on motorists', coming amid separate plans, also revealed by the Mail, which critics say could pave the way for new toll roads to spring up across the country.
The rollout is part of Lord Khan's 'Vision Zero' initiative, which aims to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries on London's roads.
When roads controlled by town halls are included as well as those run by TfL, more than half of all highways across Greater London now have 20mph limits.
Drivers caught out by 20mph cameras
The limits have become controversial amid growing numbers of drivers being caught by speed cameras enforcing the lower limits. Those ensnared include crime author Lynda La Plante, who pleaded guilty in August to breaking the 20mph speed limit five times in Kingston-upon-Thames between November 2025 and April 2026.
Luther star Sir Idris Elba was also caught out by one of the capital's 20mph speed traps while driving his moped at 28mph on Chelsea Embankment.
Tory shadow transport minister Greg Smith said: "Having already made driving in the centre of London utterly miserable thanks to endless cycle lanes, 20mph zones and uncapped roadworks, the greater expansion of 20mph zones in London is the next, sadly predictable chapter in Labour's war on motorists. They should just let people choose how they travel."
The expansion of 20mph zones comes on top of a string of other charges piled on drivers by Lord Khan's administration, including a huge expansion of the £12.50-a-day Ultra Low Emission Zone charge for older cars. He has also raised the daily Congestion Charge to up to £21 and introduced new river crossing tolls, including for the newly built Silvertown Tunnel and the historically free Blackwall Tunnel.
Last month it also emerged that Lord Khan is raking in more than £750 an hour from bus lane fines, after the cash TfL has collected from them rocketed by 400 per cent. TfL netted £6.6million from 54,761 motorists straying into bus lanes across the capital last year, up from £4.3million and 29,423 drivers the year before.
National rise in speeding fines
While there is evidence that 20mph limits reduce drivers' average speed, motorists complain they are increasingly being introduced on roads where they are not needed, and that the growing number of zones has created confusion that catches out otherwise law-abiding drivers.
Separate figures obtained from police forces by the Mail in July revealed that drivers caught by speed cameras in 20mph zones across the country soared from 21,125 in 2023 to 127,915 last year, a jump of around 500 per cent. Data from 22 police forces found nearly 250,000 motorists were caught in total.
The biggest increases in drivers being caught were in Labour-run areas, prompting accusations that the party has been treating drivers like 'cash cows'. Speeding fines raise tens of millions of pounds a year and are paid to the Treasury, including fines issued on TfL-controlled roads.
A TfL spokesman defended the policy, saying: "The evidence is clear that 20mph speed limits save lives, with TfL's latest long-term research showing a 34 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on borough roads following the introduction of 20mph schemes."
