The row between Porsche and the mayor of London intensified last night when Ken Livingstone called on the luxury car manufacturer to abandon its legal challenge to a new £25 polluters' charge, claiming it did not have the support of Londoners.
The German sports car specialist is seeking judicial review in an attempt overturn a decision to charge drivers of the most polluting vehicles - including many high performance sports cars - £25 each time they enter the capital.
But yesterday Livingstone said a new survey, which found that almost two-thirds of Londoners backed the scheme, proved Porsche did not have widespread support.
"Luxury car manufacturers such as Porsche should take the hint and put their energy into reducing the carbon emissions of their cars instead of pursuing pointless legal action against this ground-breaking policy," he said.
However, a spokesman for Porsche confirmed it was pressing ahead with its legal challenge adding that its own polling revealed three out of four people were opposed to Livingstone's plans.
"The Porsche ICM poll shows that a big majority believe that this charge is totally unfair and is more about squeezing money out of motorists than trying to help the environment," said a spokesman
The mayor's Ipsos-Mori poll found that 61% of Londoners backed the decision to charge around 30,000 drivers of band-G vehicles £25 every time they drive into central London; 67% said they supported the 100% discount for those vehicles that emit the lowest levels of carbon dioxide.
