London's 'Blade Runners' destroy low-emission surveillance cameras
A covert group calling themselves the “Blade Runners” is on a mission to find and destroy every Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) surveillance camera that has been placed throughout London this year.
The ULEZ initiative, spearheaded by London mayor Sadiq Khan, has established zones within the city in which only cars meeting certain environmental standards are allowed to drive. Over 300 surveillance cameras have been installed in the city, with plans to add 2,750 more around outer London. Citizens caught on camera violating the standards can be fined £12.50 ($16.00) per day.
ULEZ has met with widespread disapproval and protest throughout the city. Families, small businesses, and charities are struggling with the tight accessibility issues and heavy financial burden the standards impose. For those identifying with the Blade Runners group, discontent has led to hands-on action against the tyrannical mandate.
In a conversation with MailOnline, one of the Blade Runners stated resolutely, “We are going to take down every single one no matter what.”
The black-clad, masked activists destroy cameras at every opportunity, “snipping, damaging with hammers, painting, disabling on a circuit level and removing.”
He continues, “We don't want this. It's a way to try to... restrict our movements…It will not happen because we haven't done anything to deserve it.”
Fox News reports, “London’s Metropolitan Police said it had recorded hundreds of crimes relating to ULEZ cameras, with 164 being stolen and 185 reports of cables being damaged as of Aug. 1.”
The Blade Runners' mission is not without risk – anyone caught and found guilty of damaging cameras faces up to four years in prison. But the activist interviewed by MailOnline expressed a willingness to take his chances because the “cause” is “worth fighting” for.
He reported that his group consists of over 100 people with the numbers continuing to grow and with their impact expanding across London. He emphasizes, “What we will achieve by our actions is the removal of the infrastructure and waking up the sleeping masses to what is really going on.”
