The Road Haulage Association has welcomed the announcement by Transport for London that it will not penalise operators who have booked their slots for retrofitting of particulate filters, provided they have placed an order in advance of the January 3 deadline.

“This is a sensible decision," said RHA director of policy Jack Semple. "We have been urging members to make the changes for some months now, but it is inevitable that some will leave it until the last minute.

“However, operators will still be fined if they are unable to provide the TfL Contact Centre with evidence that they have ordered their system prior to the January 3 deadline when the new LEZ rules come into force."