The High Court is to rule on whether it is illegal to fine motorists using CCTV evidence.
Transport for London is seeking a judicial review to try to establish whether it has broken the law by issuing fines through the post using CCTV evidence.
A test case had earlier found that London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s traffic authority had “illegally” fined motorists after filming them stopped in parking bays on red routes.
A judgment by London Tribunals, which hears appeals against penalty charge notice (PCN) fines, ruled that analysis of legislation and ministerial guidance showed CCTV fines should be a last resort and only used when traffic wardens were unable to enforce road rules.
The laws attempting to limit the use of CCTV were introduced nearly 10 years ago after ministers became increasingly concerned about “overzealous enforcement by local authorities”.
Now, Transport for London (TfL) has lodged an application seeking a judicial review to try to overturn the appeal ruling.
An order issued by Mrs Justice Foster to the High Court in London said “there is an urgent issue of statutory interpretation requiring decision concerning the penalty enforcement mechanism on red route parking bays in London”.
The move comes after Ernst & Young, TfL’s official auditors, received a letter claiming the transport authority’s accounts needed to be reviewed because they included money raised from fines that had been found “contrary to law”.
The test case is expected to be used to overturn numerous fines issued by CCTV.
Derek Dishman, who helps people challenge fines, wrote to Ernst & Young claiming TfL may have to pay back some of the fines it had issued following the London Tribunals ruling.
Mr Dishman, from north-west London, said the ruling that found using traffic wardens allowed motorists to contemporaneously challenge a fine was a “fairer, more human system” than a CCTV fine arriving weeks later in the post.
“What TfL is doing, by relying on cameras, is using the most cost-efficient system at the expense of trouble for motorists, especially blue badge holders whose badge cannot be seen if the camera points at the rear of the vehicle where it cannot possibly read the details of a blue badge at distance.
“Big Brother has gone far enough in the world of PCNs.
A TfL spokeswoman said the organisation’s accounts “will be reviewed after the resolution of the High Court application”.
She added: “We believe we have been applying the regulations correctly and are seeking a review of the tribunal’s ruling at the High Court.” By Steve Bird, Telegraph
