Plans to impose a 20 miles per hour (mph) speed limit in central London have been criticised by politicians who thinks the plans should be stretched to outer London.

Earlier today, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan announced a ‘Vision Zero’ action plan to reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on all Transport for London (TfL) networks.

Central to his plans were proposals to make 20mph the new speed limit on all TfL roads within the Congestion Charging Zone – which covers central London – by 2020.

But London politicians have expressed their concern.

Green party London Assembly member Caroline Russell is just one politician urging Mr Khan to impose these speed limits to outer London.

Ms Russell who has researched road danger in outer London as part of a transport committee report -‘Hostile Streets’ – wants the 20mph limits to apply to outer London too- something the report recommended.

Ms Russell said the mayor needs to be “bolder” with his plans and commit to a least trialling 20mph speed limits in London.

She said: “Although I’m glad to see these measures introduced focusing on central London still leaves out the majority of Londoners – there are still streets in outer London that are so hostile and traffic-dominated that people won’t even consider walking or cycling there.

“People shouldn’t feel too scared to walk to the shops or pop over the road to visit a friend because they’re intimidated by traffic.”

The action plan which was launched in coordination with TfL and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) includes other measures such as tougher safety standards for the design of HGVs and a bus safety programme which includes a training course for all drivers.

By 2022 the mayor wants to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on London’s roads by 65 per cent, with no-one being killed by a bus by 2030.

The chairman of the London Assembly transport committee Caroline Pidgeon also thinks the mayor needs to impose these limits to outer Londoner.

Referring back to the transport committee’s ‘Hostile Streets’ report Ms Pidgeon said: “Although this announcement is a start, the Mayor and TfL need to be more ambitious outside the Congestion Zone, where there is huge untapped potential for more walking and cycling.

“It’s these areas where Londoners should be able to enjoy walking and cycling in safety, so it would be remiss to ignore the roads where the greatest benefits are to be gained.”

Mr Khan called the plans “bold and far reaching” and said they were “some of the most ambitious in the world”.

He said: “I don’t accept that deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads are something we just have to put up with. Every single death or serious injury results in heartache and tragedy for those affected, and their loved ones.”