Seanie O'Kilfoyle wrote:

Well, you'd have been on camera, they just wouldn't have logged you
as chargeable. But did you stick to the diversion and exit from the
zone as soon as possible? Sounds to me like you took a chance on
rat-running through the middle before 7am. There's nothing wrong
with that, except it's also nothing to do with the police's
diversion

This just shows what an unfair extorion racket the CONgestion
"charge" truly is

Why? If the OP chose to leave the official diversionary route then he
simply becomes another motorist moving within the charge zone and hence
subject to the charge. Seems fair enough to me