Probe reveals new hybrid cars with higher levels of harmful emissions than diesels, as Dispatches discovers some public chargers out of service for years

[David Icke]: A new Channel 4 Dispatches investigation airing tonight will reveal that hybrid cars are producing higher levels of some harmful emissions than some of the latest diesel models.

A test of six hybrids, two diesels and one petrol model found the partially-electrified cars produced more volatile organic compounds – or VOCs – than the entirely fossil-fueled vehicles.

VOCs are chemicals that are emitted as gases from some liquids, including petrol and diesel. At certain levels some VOCs can cause cancer and ground-level smog, the report warns.

The report, to be shown at 8:30pm on Monday, also uncovers the existing state of the electric vehicle public charging network in the UK, revealing more than one in 20 devices are out of service – and some charge points have been broken for up to six years.

Channel 4 worked with experts at UK company Emissions Analytics to reveal the greater polluting impact of hybrids cars.

Currently, hybrids are the most popular form of electrified cars in the UK, with more than 207,000 new vehicles entering British roads this year (both conventional and plug-in hybrid), accounting for almost one in six vehicle registrations so far in 2021.