Cox condemns pay-per-mile powers to enter drivers' premises

Howard Cox, Restore Britain's transport spokesman and founder of FairFuelUK, has attacked draft government powers to enforce the new pay-per-mile charge on electric cars.

Mr Cox wrote on X at 10:45 BST on Monday 12th October: "Kicking down the doors of law-abiding motorists to check their mileage is an outrageous abuse of power. This pay-per-mile scheme turns every driver into a suspect and hands police Big Brother powers they neither want nor have time for."

His comments follow a Daily Mail report that police would get powers to "raid the homes" of drivers suspected of dodging the charge.

What is confirmed

GOV.UK says Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) will apply from 1st April 2028 at 3p a mile for fully electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids, on top of standard road tax. Drivers will report their mileage, and the government intends to check it against MOT records.

Draft legislation published on GOV.UK on 13th July would allow a vehicle examiner or authorised police constable who suspects an odometer or mileage-record offence "to enter any premises on which the examiner or constable has reason to believe that the vehicle is kept". They could also inspect, test, drive and detain the vehicle. Obstructing them would be an offence.

What is disputed

The draft does not mention "homes" or "kicking down doors"; those are characterisations by critics. The Daily Mail reported that the draft does not contain the words "warrant", "notice" or "reasonable time". A government spokesman told the paper the powers would "rarely be used due to safeguards being introduced, such as using MOTs to check user supplied mileage readings".

The measures are still in draft. The Daily Mail said they are expected in the upcoming Finance Bill.

Mr Cox was appointed Restore's transport spokesman in August. Rupert Lowe said then that Restore would "fight unapologetically for British motorists".

Image: Stephen Armstrong, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons