Latest news with #PaulPowlesland
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Cyclist caught riding 'no-handed' fumes at City of London police officer
A barrister accused of cycling no-handed through central London told police they should be catching 'robbers' instead of fining him. Paul Powlesland posted a video of the encounter with the City of London officer after he was accused of 'careless and inconsiderate cycling'. In the clip, she said he was riding with 'his arms stretched out wide and off the handlebars during rush hour' on March 5. He then approached the officer on April 2 in Queen Victoria Street and filmed the video, before posting the footage on Thursday. In the clip, the barrister slammed the officer's decision, claiming that riding no-handed was not an offence. He said: 'So anyone cycling no-handed in rush hour is going to get ticketed?' The officer replied: 'If I see them, yes.' Paul then accused the officer of wasting police resources and claimed bike theft was 'endemic', adding: 'You don't even investigate most bike theft. There's phone snatching going on – you could be getting robbers. 'You're letting phone snatchers and bike thieves go to ticket law-abiding citizens cycling no-handed. 'Do you honestly think that's a good use of City of London Police time?' The officer said: 'Cycling with no hands on the handlebars places others at risk and contravenes Article 2 of the Human Rights Act,' adding: 'It endangers people on the road.' In a post on X Mr Powlesland insisted he was in the right.. 'I recently got stopped & ticketed by the City of London Police for, & I kid you not, 'cycling no handed',' he wrote. 'Even though it's clearly not an offence, the officer said they were ticketing me under the Human Rights Act as I was infringing other people's Article 2 'Right to Life', in case I fell off & injured them: utterly bonkers stuff.' A spokesperson for City of London Police told Metro that during the 'small clip of a longer interaction…the Human Rights Act was mentioned' but that Paul was penalised under Section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, for 'careless and inconsiderate cycling'. They said that a ticket was processed on May 19, adding: 'Should the cyclist contest the ticket, officers will attend court and present any relevant evidence that we have obtained.' More Trending Metro has approached Paul Powlesland for comment. The City of London has launched a crackdown on cyclists skipping red lights – which they do at a rate ten times more than motorists. Since the beginning of 2025, 284 cyclists in the Square Mile have been fined for failing to stop at traffic lights, compared to just 25 motorists penalised for the same offence. Meanwhile, analysis from the Clean Cities Campaign shows that on average, 20,000 bikes are reported stolen every year across London at a rate of over 50 every day. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Another e-bike brand is set to launch in London this summer MORE: I've got a message for drivers who harass cyclists like me
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
‘Police said I violated the Human Rights Act for cycling no-handed'
A cyclist has claimed police ticketed him under the Human Rights Act for taking both hands off of his handlebars. Paul Powlesland, a barrister and environmental campaigner, filmed the encounter with the City of London police in which he was told he could fall and injure someone. In the video posted to X, a police officer can be heard saying: 'Cycling with no hands on the handlebars places other road users at risk, contravenes article 2 of the Human Rights Act '. The barrister, laughing, responds: 'Cycling no-handed violates Article 2 of the Human Rights Act? That's the Right to Life, isn't it?' Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998 states that 'everyone's right to life shall be protected by law' and 'no one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a court following his conviction of a crime'. I recently got stopped & ticketed by the City of London Police for, & I kid you not, "cycling no handed". Even though it's clearly not an offence, the officer said they were ticketing me under the Human Rights Act as I was infringing other people's Article 2 'Right to Life', in… — Paul Powlesland (@paulpowlesland) July 3, 2025 There is no specific law that makes cycling no-handed a crime in the UK, though police do have the power to fine riders deemed to be cycling dangerously and not in control of their bikes. Mr Powlesland is heard probing the officer over whether she intended to ticket everyone cycling no handed during rush hour, to which she responded: 'if I see them, yes.' He added: 'You're letting phone snatchers and bike thieves go to ticket law-abiding citizens cycling no handed – do you honestly think that's a good use of City of London police time?' While Mr Powlesland was not ticketed on 2 April, when the video was shot, he had been penalised by the officer on 5 March for careless and inconsiderate cycling under section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The barrister, who is the founder of Lawyers for Nature, an organisation which seeks to represent natural work in the courts, later described the ticketing as 'utterly bonkers stuff'. In a caption on X after the event, he argued that police time would be better spent tackling the scourge of thieves in London. He wrote: 'With bicycle theft basically legalised in the City due to the complete failure of the police to bother investigating such thefts and people being regularly terrorised in London by e-bike phone muggers, it's good to see the City of London Police concentrating the resources on what really matters.' In the first four months of the year, 213 phones were reported stolen in the City of London. In the West End, 37 people report their phone stolen on average every day. Home Office data released in May revealed that more than 365,000 bike thefts reported to the police have gone unsolved since 2019, which equates to 89 per cent of all cases. And just three per cent of reported bike thefts in the past five years have led to a charge or summons. Mr Powlesland had posted his encounter in response to the City of London Police's announcement of their summer campaign on 2 July, which they have dubbed 'Safer City Streets'. The force said the campaign 'focuses on offences that matter to communities, like cyclists going through red lights'. It added that nearly 300 cyclists had received fixed penalty notices for running red lights so far this year. A City of London Police spokesman told MailOnline: 'We're aware of a social media post that shows a small clip from a longer interaction between a cyclist and a City of London Police officer on April 2 2025. 'The cyclist approached the officer and during their three-minute chat, the Human Rights Act was mentioned. The cyclist was not ticketed on this day, but he had approached the officer because she had issued him a ticket on March 5 2025 in the City of London. 'On March 5 2025, the officer observed the cyclist riding with his arms stretched out wide and off the handlebars during rush hour. 'The officer stopped the cyclist and issued him with a ticket for careless and inconsiderate cycling under s29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. 'A ticket was processed on May 19 2025. Should the cyclist contest the ticket, officers will attend court and present any relevant evidence that we have obtained.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Moment cyclist ticketed for 'riding no handed' confronts City of London officer over his fine - but who do YOU think was in the wrong?
This is the moment a frustrated barrister ticketed for allegedly cycling no-handed confronted the police officer who fined him. Paul Powlesland posted a video of the 'utterly bonkers' encounter with the female City of London officer on social media. It came after he was accused of 'careless and inconsiderate cycling' and 'riding with his arms outstretched wide' on March 5 by the officer. He later filmed a separate altercation with the police woman after approaching her in Queen Victoria Street on April 2 - before posting the video today. In the clip, the c limate change campaigner appeared to grill the officer over why he had been fined for 'cycling no-handed' - which he claimed was not an offence. Mr Powlesland asks: 'So anyone cycling no-handed in rush hour is going to get ticketed?' 'If I see them, yes,' replies the officer. The barrister then hits out, accusing the police of wasting resources while describing the bike theft rate plaguing the capital as 'endemic'. 'You don't even investigate most bike theft,' he tells the female cop. 'There's phone snatching going on - you could be getting robbers. 'You're letting phone snatchers and bike thieves go to ticket law-abiding citizens cycling no-handed. Do you honestly think that's a good use of City of London Police time?' Pictured is Mr Powlesland's post on X, which has been seen almost 800,000 times I recently got stopped & ticketed by the City of London Police for, & I kid you not, 'cycling no handed'. Even though it's clearly not an offence, the officer said they were ticketing me under the Human Rights Act as I was infringing other people's Article 2 'Right to Life', in… — Paul Powlesland (@paulpowlesland) July 3, 2025 The officer, who was armed with a Taser, replies: 'Cycling with no hands on the handlebars places others at risk, and contravenes Article 2 of the Human Rights Act.' Laughing, the lawyer repeats: 'Cycling no-handed violates Article 2 of the Human Rights Act? That's the Right to Life, isn't it?' Attempting to clarify the comment, the police officer says: 'No, I said it endangers people on the road,' at which point he cuts in: 'No, you said me cycling no-handed violates Article 2. I think we're done at that. It's rather silly, isn't it?' In the UK there is no specific law that makes cycling no-handed a crime - unlike in Cyprus, which made it illegal in 2016. However, there is a grey area which allows police to fine riders deemed to be cycling dangerously and not in proper control of their bikes. And while the Highway Code does not expressly forbid bikers from cycling no-handed, there are rules in place against riding dangerously. Rule 66 of the code states 'you should avoid any actions that could reduce your control of your cycle.' While rule 68 adds 'you MUST NOT ride in a dangerous, careless or inconsiderate manner'. However, Mr Powlesland was penalised under Section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Posting the 63-second clip of the encounter on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Powlesland insisted he was not in the wrong. 'I recently got stopped & ticketed by the City of London Police for, & I kid you not, 'cycling no handed',' he wrote. 'Even though it's clearly not an offence, the officer said they were ticketing me under the Human Rights Act as I was infringing other people's Article 2 'Right to Life', in case I fell off & injured them: utterly bonkers stuff.' He added: 'With bicycle theft basically legalised in the City due to the complete failure of the Police to bother investigating such thefts & people being regularly terrorised in London by e-bike phone muggers, it's good to see the City of London Police concentrating the resources on what really matters.' The encounter, which has been seen by almost 800,000 people, comes as City of London Police continues with its summer street safety crackdown. It has seen 284 cyclists fined for running red lights in the first six months of 2025 - more than ten times as many as the 25 motorists penalised for the same offence. A City of London Police spokesman told MailOnline: 'We're aware of a social media post that shows a small clip from a longer interaction between a cyclist and a City of London Police officer on the April 2 2025. 'The cyclist approached the officer and during their three-minute chat, the Human Rights Act was mentioned. The cyclist was not ticketed on this day, but he had approached the officer because she had issued him a ticket on the March 5 2025 in the City of London. 'On the March 5 2025, the officer observed the cyclist riding with his arms stretched out wide and off the handlebars during rush hour. 'The officer stopped the cyclist and issued him with a ticket for careless and inconsiderate cycling under s29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. 'A ticket was processed on the May 19 2025. Should the cyclist contest the ticket, officers will attend court and present any relevant evidence that we have obtained.'
