I don't buy it for a minute. No one with any gumption believes anything politicians tell them. The only reason people bought diesels is because they were trying to be clever and save a few quid.

Of course, the car salesman were quite happy with this and weren't at all quick to point out that the average motorist does too much short journey or urban motoring for a DPF to work properly. When the DPFs started to act up as a result they then whipped them out, despite knowing full well its an anti pollution device, and were happy to then drive around puking unfiltered cancer out the back.

The information about the danger to health from PM2.5 and nitrous oxides has always been there for anyone who cared to look, but no one bothered to do so. Eventually the press started rubbing it in peoples faces and they were finally forced to acknowledge the inevitable.

I've little sympathy for anyone. In any other field they'd normally disbelieve anything that comes out of a politicians mouth, but willfully ignored it this time because it was saving them a few quid. They didn't care.

Well, they've done it now. Their desire to save a few quid on fuel and bugger everyone and everything else has forced a press awakening, which in turn has forced a government to act. Thanks to people who brought diesels to drive three mikes to work, or half a mile to take the kids to school were all going to suffer. By 2040 we won't be able to buy a purely ICE car by law, and probably it'll now be less than 10 years before any car manufacturer will sell you a model powered solely by ICE.

However, there isn't enough generating capacity to allow everyone to replace their ICE cars like for like with an electric one. Even if there were, there aren't enough rare earth minerals in the World to make the motors and batteries to be able to replace cars like for like. Because people thought of nothing but their bottom line half of them will be in the bus by 2030. I think its funny - I'm retired, and since doing so have refused to drive a car for a local journey. I've got into cycling those journeys, so I'm already sorted, but the lazy car driving unwashed who think its OK to drive a 3 litre Discovery diesel there and back half a mike to school twice each day are going to come down to earth with a real bang, and I've zero sympathy for them.