The Mayor of London’s annual State of London debate was interrupted by hecklers last night, as audience members grew frustrated with Sadiq’s ULEZ hot air. Khan was repeatedly disrupted by multiple voices in the audience, with one exclaiming “that’s not true” to Sadiq’s air quality stats – he added the Mayor should “stop lying!”. Unsurprisingly, host James O’Brien saw red and had him removed…

This wasn’t an isolated incident, as another disgruntled audience member questioned if it was right “for us to pay”. With the protests out the way, Sadiq was then questioned on the “shockingly poor“ air on the tube. Sadiq insisted the air on the tube “is not breaching any health and safety standards”. Despite the fact King’s College research found tube air was 18 times worse than overground air.

He dismissed these claims by saying comparing subsurface dust to air on the streets was like comparing “apples to watermelons”. Air quality is measured in consistent units and can be held to the same benchmarks – whether it’s underground or not. The World Health Organisation’s recommended safe limit for PM 2.5 air particles is 10 micrograms per cubic metre. At one point in Guido’s own investigation, the platform at Seven Sisters station registered a PM 2.5 reading of 145 micrograms per cubic metre. The Committee for Medical Effects of Air Pollution said a one hour tube ride was as harmful to health as a full day standing by roads in Central London. Sadiq needs to brush up on his dust spin…