OXFORD’s new ‘traffic filters’ trial has gone viral, after the news of its introduction in the city was shared by a well-known climate change contrarian.

Fox News commentator Steve Milloy, who was also a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team, shared an Oxford Mail article with his Twitter followers, calling the measures the ‘first climate lockdown’.

He said: “Oxford (UK) to introduce first climate lockdown. City will be divided into six neighborhoods and residents locked down in them - no traffic in or out - on a rotating basis.

“Plan approved on November 30.”

READ MORE: Oxford business owners claim traffic filters will divide the city

In the past, Mr Milloy has called climate change ‘a hoax’, and claimed that human activity has little impact on it, denying the scientific consensus. 

Oxfordshire County Council said that the measures are designed to "reduce traffic, make bus journeys faster and make walking and cycling safer" but that all areas of the city will still be accessible by car.

When debating the decision, councillor Andrew Gant, the council's cabinet member for highways management, said: “There is nowhere in Oxford that you can currently get to by car that you will not be able to get to by car under the scheme we are proposing.

“Describing the system as dividing the city is not correct – what it’s doing is opening the city, it is ensuring freedom of movement by making the streets more accessible and more open and nicer places to be.” 

The trial has attracted a lot of attention from climate change sceptics in the past few weeks.

Jeremy Corbyn’s brother Piers, who is a weather forecaster and is known his rejection of the scientific consensus on climate change, was also allowed to address councillors during their meeting to decide on the trial.

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He said: “I have spoken around the world on climate and solar matters and I’m here, councillors, to convince you of two things.

“One, that man-made climate change does not exist and secondly, that being the case you should drop all of these green measures and other green measures that you are doing on other committees.

“The point is that the basis of these documents are false – man-made climate change does not exist and if you don’t believe me, look at the sky. You should have a special meeting to discuss whether man-made climate change exists or not.”

Responding to Mr Corbyn’s claims, Mr Gant said: “Mr Corbyn said climate change is not real – this council has formally adopted a position that climate change is real.

“Mr Corbyn you are wrong, we are right.” 

Another climate change website, Watts Up With That, also published an essay calling the measures ‘a climate lockdown starting in 2024’.

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi