'Shameful that Londoners must endure poor air quality'

A leading environmental charity has claimed that it is shameful that Londoners must endure such low air quality.

According to the Friends of the Earth, the government and mayor of London must do all they can to tackle the ongoing pollution problem in the capital.

Speaking to the Guardian, one of the charity's London campaigners, Jenny Bates, said: "It's shameful that Londoners are still forced to breathe dirty air."

She added that not only will cleaning up the capital boost life expectancy, but it will help to tackle the problem of man-made climate change.

Meanwhile, James Grugeon, chief executive officer of Environmental Protection UK, claimed that the government was way behind its European counterparts in terms of improving inner-city air quality.

Their comments come after a recent air quality study was published showing that London is one of the UK's unhealthiest cities thanks to the ongoing problem of airborne particulates - particularly those from diesel vehicles.

Posted by Claire Manning