Oxford councillors are feeling rattled by opposition to their proposal to divide the city into six districts and to limit the passage of road traffic between them. The city and county councils put out a press release last week accusing residents of spreading ‘misinformation’ about the scheme. It complained of abuse received from members of the public and said that its staff had been offered ‘support’ to cope with the tirade of abuse, the worst cases of which had been reported to police.
If anyone working for the council has been threatened then that, of course, is deplorable and quite properly a police matter. But are residents justified in complaining about the proposals?
The city council didn’t elucidate on the ‘misinformation’ it was complaining about, but there are two articles on climate sceptic websites JoNova and Watts Up With That which are believed to have upset them. Both used the term ‘climate lockdown’, which many might think a little over the top, but both articles also accurately reported what has been proposed: that is, to install six ‘electronic gates’ in the city, policed by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and backed up with fines.
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