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news
Statue of Justice, Old Bailey (licensed CC BY 2.0 on Flickr by Ronnie Macdonald).jpgCharlie Alliston potentially facing perjury charge over claim he worked as a courier
Charlie Alliston, who was yesterday sentenced to 18 months in a young offender institution in connection with the death of London pedestrian Kim Briggs, could reportedly face a charge of perjury after claiming under oath at his trial last month that he was an experienced bike courier.
The 20-year-old was convicted last month of causing bodily harm through wanton and furious driving but acquitted of manslaughter in relation to the death of Mrs Briggs, who died from head injuries sustained when the pair collided on London’s Old Street in February 2016.
> London fixed wheel cyclist Charlie Alliston sentenced to 18 months in young offenders institution
He told the Old Bailey at his trial that he had spent eight months working as a courier in London, making up to 20 deliveries a day.
Alliston, whose fixed wheel bike had no front brake meaning it was not legal for use on the public highway, had apparently been seeking to convince the jury that his experience meant that he was able to control the bike safely.
He claimed while giving evidence that he had worked for three different firms, but the Daily Mail says that when it contacted two of his employers, they told him that he had minimal experience.
One, Go Between Couriers, said that he had worked for them for one day but never came back while a second, A-Z Couriers, confirmed that he had spent a week working there.
A third firm, Pink Express, ceased trading in 2014, a year before the time Alliston said he worked for them.
At the Old Bailey yesterday, Judge Wendy Joseph said: “I have now been advised that Mr Alliston was not telling the truth about his courier experience.”
She also confirmed that the Daily Mail had passed its information to the prosecution.
The judge made a reference to Alliston’s claimed employment history in her sentencing remarks.
She said: “During the latter months of 2015 you dropped out of school and told the court you worked as a bicycle courier, cycling extensively on the London roads.
“The truthfulness of your evidence on this point has been questioned, however, for the purposes of this sentencing it makes no difference, and for these purposes I put it out of my mind.”
Passing sentence, she told Alliston: “'I've heard your evidence and I have no doubt that even now you remain obstinately sure of yourself and your own abilities.
“I have no doubt you are wrong in this. You were an accident waiting to happen. The victim could have been any pedestrian. It was in fact Mrs Kim Briggs.
“'If you bicycle had a front wheel brake you could have stopped but on this illegal bike you could not and on your evidence, by this stage, you were not even trying to slow or stop.
“You expected her to get out of the way,” she added.
In England & Wales the offence of perjury, created under the Perjury Act 1911, carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment or a fine, or both.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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65 comments
I'm aware of what jaywalking is, I have no idea of the relevance in the UK.
Indeed, but ask the man in the street what she did and I bet you a pound to a pinch of shit they'd say she was a nurse. That's what she looks like in the most widely-publicised photo of her, and I'm cynical enough to think this was deliberate. Unfortunately for Alliston, in every photo of him, he looks like a bellend.
not sure where you are from bikeman, but jaywalking isn't an offence in England, Scotland or Wales due to our roads being built before motorised vehicles. The only exception in the UK is Northeren Ireland which for some reason placed it in their statute books in the 20's. Though personally I have heard only of one case where the RUC charged an individual for this offence when he claimed he was out for a walk when in reality he was rioting. Apparantly his lawyer was going for the innocent out for a walk defence!
While I'm sure that played a part, I'm pretty sure they had roads before the invention of the car in the USA and other countries with jaywalking laws too, though obviously it goes a long way to explaining why attempting to walk anywhere is viewed with deep suspicion in the US.
I like to think that the main reason we don't have any such laws is because of the patent absurdity of them, and any cyclist who supports them should think about the possible consequences of new laws targeting non-motorists using the roads.
The background to those 'jaywalking' laws is briefly outlined here
http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-76-the-modern-moloch/
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