London tolls chief attacks capital's 'rush job'

Derek Turner, the consultant responsible for implementing London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s 5-a-day scheme for the centre of London, said difficulties in predicting the impact of such traffic schemes made it impossible for people to make an informed choice before charges were put into practice.

He suggested Edinburgh’s city leaders had rushed through the scheme and that it was a mistake to hold a referendum before people had a chance to see how charges worked.

Mr Turner, one of five panellists at the recent transport debate organised by the council in Edinburgh, said he would be disappointed, but not surprised if Edinburgh voted No to road tolls.

City leaders today dismissed the criticisms, insisting they were tied by legal constraints in Scotland.

But road tolls opponents said the criticism would come as a bitter blow to city transport leader Andrew Burns, who they claimed had treated Mr Turner like a "proselytising prophet" at the debate. Mr Turner said the complex nature of Edinburgh’s scheme made it hard for the public to understand what impact tolls would have on congestion.

He said: "Because they (the city’s transport leaders) went at the speed they were going at, they got themselves tied up with a referendum. With hindsight, they could have taken longer and avoided a referendum.

"The city council may have been better operating the scheme on a pilot basis for a year, as they have in Stockholm, Sweden, before holding a referendum."

A city council spokesman claimed that Mr Turner’s criticism was ill-informed.

He said: "Edinburgh has to hold a referendum because, under Scottish legislation, we have to demonstrate public support for a scheme of this size, unlike London, which doesn’t. It is a misunderstanding of the differences between Scots and English law."

But city councillor Fred Mackintosh, the Capital’s Lib Dem transport spokesman, said Mr Turner had obviously "read the writing on the wall".

He said: "This is the person Andrew Burns had brought in to sit at his right hand during the debate. It’s just the Yes campaign fighting amongst themselves. The scheme is so complicated and complex and difficult for people to trust them on that people are obviously voting No in order to feel safe.

"What [Mr Turner] is trying to stop people saying is that it is the end of road charges forever, because that’s what Andrew Burns would have us believe, but that’s not true, it’s just that Edinburgh council has mucked it up."

Edinburgh’s plans are unique in that it is the first time anywhere in the world an entire city will be covered by congestion charging.

The city council has received votes from more than 120,000 people in the referendum. Almost 300,000 ballot papers were sent out to homes across the city.

Voters have until February 21 to post back their verdict and the result is due the following day.

Other cities around the UK are now waiting to discover the result of the referendum.

Political leaders in cities such as Cardiff, Southampton, Bristol and Manchester fear that a No vote in Edinburgh could set road tolls back years.

But it has not stopped Ken Livingstone from pressing ahead with plans to extend his scheme to take in Kensington and Chelsea.