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news
Boris Johnson opens CS5Boris Johnson banned from cycling by security team
Boris Johnson has been banned from riding his bike on public roads by police bodyguards who have deemed it to be too much of a security risk.
The Sun reports that Johnson was ordered to give up cycling when he became Foreign Secretary in July.
He challenged the decision, but a full Metropolitan Police protection branch review has now upheld it.
A friend of Johnson’s is quoted as saying:
“Boris loves cycling, he used to go everywhere on a bike while he was mayor, so being told he can no longer do this is a real irritation or him.
“He pushed back, but the coppers were adamant and he accepts he makes quite a recognisable target. He is now working on other ways to burn off all those big diplomatic dinners.”
This apparently includes jogging around St James’s Park wearing bright red shorts and a Team GB sweatshirt.
Rather than cycling to work – as he did while serving as Mayor of London – Johnson had up until recently been commuting to the Foreign Office via his official government limo from his family home in Islington.
However, this was taking more than an hour and the London Evening Standard reports that he is therefore moving into the Foreign Secretary’s official residence in Carlton Gardens. The newspaper quotes one Islington resident as saying: “I saw a lovely lady, doing a fist-pump and shouting ‘Yes! The bastard’s moving out!’ She had an Eastern European accent. I asked her who? Then I realised: Boris. She said ‘Yes!’”
Johnson’s time as a cyclist was certainly eventful. In 2013, he waded into the helmet debate saying he wouldn’t be bullied into wearing one; in 2014, his bike was destroyed when he rode it into a sizeable London pothole; and in 2015, he was forced to apologise after giving his wife a backie, claiming that he didn’t know the practice was illegal.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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25 comments
Once again the poice are not understanding their role as civil servants, over-stepping the mark by telling anyone what to do, that's not their job. Their job is to protect, telling people they can't be bothered to do so in some circumstances is not their choice IMO.
Police telling people what to do regardless of laws is worse than police state.
No brooksby, attacked by a car is quite correct. As we all know as soon as one gets in a car it is the responsibility of the car to avoid collision, one just has to sort of point and shoot, sorry steer, as the driver.
Consequences? Cars are designed to be safe - for the occupants...
back on point, it's quite a ridiculous stance, as pointed out it was ok for a PM to cycle. I would have thought security could carry serious arms on a bike not just a pistol. Plus if they wore cameras they could combine wasting their time looking after a politician with enforcement videos of close passes ala the WMP!
PM didn't actually cycle, as in, he wasn't a cyclist. Just a limited PR exercise for the green credentials. Do it as long as is convincing. Like sending Miliband out in the morning to eat a bacon sandwich.
That's an easier thing to manage than a Foreign Sec who wants to ride his bike around when he feels like it, taking routes as he feels fit, possibly for hours a day.
Not that I'm all for security or anything. I'd be perfectly happy to let Blair ride around on a bike without any watchers.
Cameron wasn't allowed to cycle after he became PM. For the same reason that johnson isn't.
Those pics of Cameron cycling to work are from when Gordon Brown was PM.
I joined the local club ride when I was in Abu Dhabi & the US Ambassador happened to be a member. It was brilliant, we had 2 huge 4x4s stopping traffic at junctions for us and basically keeping cars at a safe distance!
There was a lot more room on the roads than in London though.
There was also this incident - perhaps 'giving cyclists a good name' (though, oddly, it doesn't seem to have improved attitudes to cyclists in general).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8340865.stm
One time when I was staying in London I went for a run in St James's park in the morning. I saw a familiar face coming towards me, and realised that it was George Osborne, going quite fast too. Running along behind him were a couple of fairly stocky blokes in blue tshirts. As we got closer, I could see that they were armed. I guess it's easier to use a gun when running, and I expect that they could keep up with Boris
Actually IMO Boris should be locked away out of harm's way anyway for security reasons. It would save further embarrassment to the general population at large !
When I worked at More London next door to him, I used to regularly chat to him at the traffics lights and I remember him saying that he loved cycling to work as no one bothered him(well apart from me) he was just a normal person for a couple of hours a day. Nice chap!
Hmm, I think a lot of pepole would disagree strongly with you about him being a nice chap. What he's done to the British economy by lying so he could try and get the top job for instance marks him out as a sociopath. The fact that he can be polite at times just shows him to be a high functioning one.
I used to see him cycling around fairly regularly and came across him on my commute but given my distaste for the man, I avoided saying anything to him. I suspect a lot of other London cyclists dislike him as much as myself.
It's a pity he hasn't been called to account for various matters in hist past. But I think his past may well catch up with him sooner or later.
The protection police don't have a good record with cyclists do they. Plebgate started with not opening a gate for a cyclist.
So how is jogging in the park any more of a security risk than cycling to work?! What they mean is the armed police can't be bothered to cycle with him!
I think it is a hell of a lot easier to keep an eye on a portly gentleman wheezing round a park than it is to keep an eye on somebody who is in traffic and who might, for instance, be attacked by a car.
Seems sensible.
Kerry and George W Bush were allowed to cycle - but only on closed roads. I daresay Bozo can cycle round Hyde Park, but not out of it.
"attacked by a car"? You mean, attacked by a person using a car, surely?
Finally, a reason for that stupid gym-on-a-bus idea from earlier this year. The entire Cabinet could commute in total safety while burning off the calories from their high living on state funds. Of course, Boris in particular might not want people to be reminded of the last time he was associated with a bus.
Surely he could get out with John Kerry? Although I doubt he'd keep up.
Seems like Boris has been Trumped when it comes to cycling... http://road.cc/content/news/170258-its-official-donald-trump-hates-cyclists
He could always disguise himself as a deliveroo delivery boy and go under the radar...
Nice one Boris:
Officially no longer riding due security = therefore can go riding unofficially! Who'd know?
I think both Bozo and the public would be safer all round if the bodyguards let him cycle but banned him from politics.
So a Foreign Secretary is considered to be at more of a risk than the Mayor of London? Are they sure? Surely they're equally at risk, in being in the public eye. I mean, its not like they'll let Boris near the big red button or anything... Theresa May just wanted to keep him where she could keep an eye on him.
Sad that it is this way but the mayor of London being a Muslim is, in the current climate, safer than Boris from attack. As foreign secretary he's this countries voice in all things that happen abroad.
Didn't Dave when prime minister cycle about, with his work stuff in the chauffeur drive car and the obvious security detail in at least one other car?
If the PM could do it shouldn't the foreign secretary be allowed to do it?
Well I suppose if anyone did try and knock him off deliberately, it would rather awkwardly expose the met's utter inability to prosecute offences against cyclists....
So we offer Boris up as a sacrificial pawn, to draw out the legislators for *proper* enforcemenrt of traffic behaviour... Not a bad idea, actually.
Backie's are illegal? But having a phone switched on inside a lorry is OK?
Anyway, oddly, articles like this make him sort of loveable.