A 63-year-old anti-Ulez activist has been jailed for 15 years after blowing up a roadside camera with a homemade explosive device in a residential street in Sidcup, south-east London.
Kevin Rees was convicted of causing an explosion with intent to endanger life after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court. He was also convicted of three counts of possessing a prohibited weapon after stun guns were found at his home.
The blast sent debris more than 100 metres, damaged a child’s bedroom window and smashed the windscreen of a nearby car. Police said it was “miraculous that nobody was killed or seriously injured”.
CCTV footage showed a bright flash followed by sparks raining down as vehicles shook and a van alarm sounded. A nearby lamp post was also brought down, while a Wendy house was damaged.
The court heard that Rees travelled by car from his home to Shuttle Close shortly after 6.20pm on 6 December 2023. He walked to the Ulez camera in Willersley Avenue, planted the device and lit a fuse before being seen by a witness walking quickly away.
Investigators identified black powder, a substance used in pyrotechnics, in the remains of the device. Counter-terrorism officers arrested Rees two weeks later and searched his home.
Among the items found was a sealed package containing aluminium powder and a plastic bag containing iron oxide. Police also discovered other materials in the loft which indicated an interest in chemicals that could be used to make explosives.
Detectives examining Rees’s phone found a photograph taken on the day of the attack showing the camera being installed. The image had been deleted the following day.
Rees had set up an online group celebrating damage to Ulez cameras and used the name “The Exterminator” on Facebook Messenger. During the trial, he agreed that he had strongly opposed the scheme and Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan.
He told jurors: “I dislike him, dislike what he has done to London.”
Rees denied carrying out the explosion, saying he believed his arrest was linked to his participation in anti-Ulez Facebook groups. He said he had joined them out of boredom and because they gave him a sense of community.
When arrested, he asked officers whether it had “something to do with the anti-Ulez sites”. He told the court: “The thing is, I didn’t actually do anything wrong.”
Detective Superintendent James Derham, who leads local policing in Bexley, said Rees had shown “a complete disregard for the welfare and safety” of people living in or travelling through the area.
Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counter-terrorism division, said the incident was “not an act of protest or momentary vandalism” but a deliberate attack involving a homemade explosive device.
She said Rees had placed the device beside the camera, lit the fuse and moved away before the explosion, adding: “Whatever his views on the Ulez scheme, Kevin Rees crossed a serious line by constructing a homemade bomb and detonating it in a public place.”
Ulez requires drivers to pay a daily charge based on their vehicle’s emissions. Cameras were repeatedly damaged after the scheme was expanded to cover all of London in 2023.
