A proposal to charge any motorist living outside of London to drive into the capital has been scrapped.

The Greater London Boundary Charge was being considered as an option to boost income for Transport for London with a daily charge of £3.50.

For example, drivers in Essex would have had to pay that fee to travel into Greater London such as Waltham Forest or Enfield.

The idea was first mooted by Sadiq Khan in December 2020 as TfL attempted to plug a £500 million gap in its finances that have been crippled by Covid. But the proposal was unpopular with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and politicians in the Home Counties.

The proposal remained on the table a year later but outgoing TfL chief financial officer Simon Kilonback indicated in January the charge had subsequently been "ruled out" due to the lack of Government support.

Today, the London mayor's office confirmed the boundary charge is no longer an option. According to the Evening Standard, implementing such a charge was not deemed to be "financially viable".

However, Mr Khan has announced plans to extend the ULEZ to cover the whole of Greater London. Last year, the zone was extended up to but not including the A406 North Circular.

Drivers of vehicles which do not comply with minimum emissions standards are charged a daily fee of £12.50 for entering the Ulez area.

Whether or not a vehicle is liable for the charge depends on how much nitrogen dioxide (NO2) it emits.

For diesel cars to avoid the charge they must generally have been registered after September 2015, while most petrol models registered from 2005 are also exempt.

Mr Khan said: "I believe the proposal to extend the Ulez London-wide will have the biggest effect on emissions and congestion relative to the potential financial impact on Londoners as a whole."

The mayor has asked TfL to consult on extending the scheme’s boundary to the whole of Greater London by the end of next year.