Maria Eagle MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, responding to the ruling by the European Court of Justice against the UK Government on air pollution, said:

“This European Court of Justice judgement is a damning indictment of the Tory-led Government’s total failure to tackle the UK’s air pollution.

“Air pollution is a serious public health issue facing our towns and cities, tens of thousands of lives are lost each year and yet David Cameron’s Government has done nothing to solve the problem. The European Court of Justice has now demanded that the UK take urgent action to address dangerous levels of air pollution.

“The Government should now back Labour’s plans to deliver a national framework for low emission zones to enable local authorities to encourage cleaner, greener, less polluting vehicles to tackle this problem.”