A FRONTBENCH Tory MSP has been criticised after trying to rewrite the law and exempt his own car from pollution charges.
Finance spokesman Murdo Fraser wants to amend the Transport Bill currently going through Holyrood to exclude classic cars from low emission zone charges.
His amendment would benefit the owners of cars more than 30 years old, despite older vehicles producing more carbon emissions than modern models.
The Bill paves the way for the introduction of round-the-clock low emission zone (LEZ) schemes in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee by 2020, with penalties levied on high-polluting vehicles that enter them.
Mr Fraser’s amendment would create an exemption any vehicle “constructed more than 30 years before 1 January of the year in which it is driven” on a road inside an LEZ.
In January, in a debate on LEZs, Mr Fraser told MSPs he was “the owner of a classic car”, as well as the “owner and daily user” of a hybrid vehicle.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell said: “Low Emission Zones have the potential to massively improve the air quality in our towns and cities, while moving away from petrol and diesel powered vehicles more broadly is vital in addressing the climate emergency.
“Like his car, Mr Fraser’s amendment belongs in a museum.”
Mr Fraser said: “Unlike the Bamm-Bamm Greens who want to take us back to the Stone Age, Scottish Conservatives believe that our transport heritage should be celebrated and enjoyed.
“Historic vehicles account for just 0.2% of total traffic, so the notion that they make a significant contribution to emissions is nonsensical.
“The London LEZ already exempts them, so there is a clear precedent here.”
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