Kevin Rees jailed for 15 years over ULEZ camera bombing
Kevin Rees, 63, has been jailed for 15 years for bombing a ULEZ camera in Sidcup, south London, in December 2023, in an attack the judge linked to terrorism.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Kevin Rees, 63, a retired engineer and anti-ULEZ campaigner, has been jailed for 15 years for blowing up a camera used to enforce London's Ultra Low Emission Zone.
Rees was convicted at the Old Bailey in January of causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious damage to property. He had denied the offence. At sentencing, the judge said the attack was connected to terrorism. Rees was also given a three-year sentence, to run concurrently, for possession of a prohibited weapon after police found three homemade stun guns at his property.
The bomb went off on the evening of 20 December 2023, the year ULEZ was expanded across the whole of London. The targeted camera was on a street in Sidcup, south London, near where Rees lived. It had been installed that day and had only been up for a few hours. Rees drove to the area, parked nearby and planted a homemade device inside the camera. The device was a metal cylinder filled with explosive powder. He lit the fuse and was seen walking away quickly.
The blast was powerful. Shrapnel fired in all directions, damaging cars and property up to 100 metres away. It hit a child's bedroom, narrowly missing the window, and a bus travelling nearby narrowly escaped the explosion. Police said it was miraculous that no one was hurt or killed. No serious injuries were reported.
During his trial, Rees said he was strongly opposed to ULEZ. The scheme charges drivers of more polluting vehicles to enter the capital. Police said he had encouraged others to damage ULEZ cameras through his social media account. The investigation was handled as a counterterrorism case.
The judge concluded that the offence had a terrorism connection. Police said the outcome could have been far worse.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| The judge said the offence was terrorism-related and that Rees had used social media to encourage damage to cameras. | ||
| Only on one channel | ||
| Kevin Rees was found guilty of causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property. | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Kevin Rees, aged 63, was jailed for 15 years for a homemade bomb attack on a ULEZ camera in south-east London. | Not reported by BBC One | |
| Police found three homemade stun guns at Kevin Rees's property, and he received a concurrent three-year sentence for possessing a prohibited weapon. | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The targeted ULEZ camera was in Sidcup and had been installed only that day. | Not reported by BBC One | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky gave the story detailed treatment through a live correspondent, focusing on the timing of the attack during the 2023 ULEZ expansion, the mechanics of the homemade bomb, the near misses and the judge's finding of a terrorism connection. Its tone was factual and explanatory, with less emphasis than the BBC on the additional weapons charge and concurrent sentence.
- “an anti-ULEZ Activists an Ultra Low Emission Zone who blow up a camera used to enforce London's vehicle emissions laws has been jailed for 15 years”
- “The judge said that the offense was connected to terrorism”
- “the explosion was so powerful that shrapnel fired in all directions”
BBC ONE West led with the sentence and charge, then added detail on the device, the ULEZ scheme and the separate weapons offence. It highlighted police language about the escape from death or injury and gave a compact account without the sequence of Rees lighting the fuse or walking away.
- “A Man who deliberately blew up a camera enforcing the ultra-low emission zone in London has been jailed for 15 years after a police investigation”
- “Police say it was miraculous that no one was hurt or killed”
- “Police also found three homemade stun guns at his property”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.