An estimated £660,000 could be refunded by the town hall to motorists in Ealing following the illegal box junction apology.

But Bassam Mahfouz, prospective parliamentary candidate for Ealing Central and Acton, says the council should refund all motorists penalised since the junctions' inception.

Last month the council announced it would refund drivers who were charged between June 20 and late October at six sites in the borough. The move came as a result of docu

ments obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, which show the Department for Transport's refusal on June 20 to authorise the junctions.

The council plans to write to all people affected, explaining what has happened and informing them that they will be receiving a cheque in the post.

Motorists will get back £50 if the fine was paid within a fortnight or £100 if paid after two weeks.

But Mr Mahfouz said the council has a duty to pay back money taken during the entirety of the box junctions' existence - estimated at about £1million - as they were never fully authorised. He said: "I will be verbally asking the council next week to refund people moneys taken during the entire period the box junctions were in use."

There are two ways the council can go about this. One is to contact everyone who got a ticket and refund them, or two, put out an advert in a local newspaper asking for people to come forward if they have proof they were fined and to ask for their money back.

"It's what we've been calling for since before July and it is a matter of principle."

Mr Mahfouz said he will be tabling a motion on the issue at a full meeting of Ealing Council this Tuesday.

A spokesman for Ealing Council said: "We've said that we will refund people back to June 20.

"We could undo every transaction the council has done, but you just can't run a business or a council on that basis.

"It would be impossible if every-thing is contestable.

"If Bassam Mahfouz wants to make a political point then my response would be that there haven't been any box junctions installed in Ealing over the last two and a half years. They're from the previous administration."