Man denies blowing up Ulez camera with explosive

"A man accused of causing the explosion of an ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) camera in south-east London has told a court he believed he was arrested over anti-Ulez posts he made on Facebook. Kevin Rees, 63, was arrested by counter-terror police after a low-sophistication improvised explosive device (IED) damaged the camera in Willersley Avenue, Sidcup, in December 2023. Rees told Woolwich Crown Court he had no involvement and thought he was being detained because of his participation in "anti-Ulez" Facebook groups."

""I assumed it was just the so-called Facebook police," Rees, giving evidence on Wednesday, told the jury. He said: "People you hear being arrested for making bad or inappropriate comments on Facebook pages - that's well-known, as it's been on the news. The thing is, I didn't actually do anything wrong." When defence counsel Simon Ray asked: "Are you responsible for that explosion?," Rees replied: "No, I'm not. Not something I would do.""

"Jurors heard the camera had already been damaged earlier that day by a man called Stephen Harwood-Stamper - who later pleaded guilty to criminal damage. Harwood-Stamper cut the camera pole down before someone else caused the camera to explode when it was already on the ground. Rees, a retired domestic appliance service engineer, told jurors he had never spoken to or heard of Harwood-Stamper and first learned of the explosion through a Facebook group for local news."

Kevin Rees, 63, was arrested by counter-terror police after a low-sophistication improvised explosive device damaged a Ulez camera in Sidcup in December 2023. Rees denies causing the explosion and denies charges including causing an explosion likely to endanger life and possessing prohibited weapons. Rees told jurors he assumed his arrest related to participation in "anti-Ulez" Facebook groups and said he had done nothing wrong. Jurors heard the camera had earlier been cut down by Stephen Harwood-Stamper, who later pleaded guilty to criminal damage, before someone else caused the device to explode on the ground. Rees said he had never met Harwood-Stamper and first learned of the incident via a local Facebook group, and when arrested 12 days later asked officers if it was connected to anti-Ulez sites.

Read at www.bbc.com