Live blog: London bike cop’s supermarket sweep, Canadian PM’s wife’s bike school run in the snow & more

@Nigel Garage Is that the Telegraph that has the same obsessive hatred of Lord Khan as yourself, doubtless for the same reasons (brown, Muslim, left wing, popular, successful, caned the Tories three elections in a row)? The Telegraph that in 2024 claimed London gun crime had risen 2,500% in a year when in fact it had risen by 1%? If the Telegraph says it's Monday I check my watch to see if it's true. Knife crime offences have risen under Khan, by about 25%, from 9,086 offences in 2016 to 13,850 in 2025. What the Telegraph doubtless failed to mention is that a large part of this increase is due to stricter knife laws having been brought in in 2019, so that many offences that previously wouldn't have been recorded as knife crime now are. They doubtless inadvertently failed to mention that the number of under-25s injured by knives has fallen 25% since 2016, and the overall number of hospital attendances for knife crime has fallen 50% in the same period. Probably also didn't mention that homicides have fallen to the lowest level since records began in 1990, despite the population rising by more than two million people over that period. One imagines they also failed to mention that the Tory governments from 2010 to 2024 slashed over a billion pounds from the Metropolitan Police Service budget? Thought so. "Just this evening it was reported that legendary comedian Paul Whitehouse was the victim of an attempted mugging in Islington while using a cash machine, it’s completely out of control." In 1995 I was mugged at knifepoint in Bath, does that mean knife crime in Bath was completely out of control then?

@Backladder Do locals never drive to Thornhill for the cafe, community centre, school, vets etc.? Yes, this is "proper countryside" and maybe most people simply drive the fair ways to the big town (Dumfries!). The countryside is difficult when it comes to transport choices. I do know that in many places where it's made less unattractive people do choose the car less often. I'm not convinced more than a couple of the locals would walk on that road. Kids and older people cycling there seem rather unlikely also. But maybe they're hardy folk? Recreational cyclists - as evidenced by the folks on here - will likely cycle anyways, probably even if it was banned!

@jackcycles I can hear the Pub Landlord - "I'm sick of all those cells going to foreigners! I want to see Great British bike thieves in Great British prisons!" Given Mr.Farage has made a big thing about security while simultaneously refusing the offer of it * ... ... I'm guessing he'll be for blaming his pet hates for "an epidemic" of bike theft. Then refusing to use the police budget to tackle cycle crime, taking a millions from some dodgy donor "to fix crime", after which he'll refuse to answer any questions about what it was spent on **... * Apparently because it wasn't commensurate with his ego - sorry, his public profile - because "I'm bigger than the leader of the opposition!" ** AFAIK the latest explanation for the donations is "none of your business". Looking forward to the next report of eg. a judge receiving a large "personal gift, no strings attached" from the mob and offering the same explanation!

New Northwave winter boots, in Snow White? Don't they realise how filthy our roads are in winter?? Silca Omata, lovely retro computer, but about £400 too expensive.

@Eton Rifle you're walking around blind without a stick. Violent crime is up massively under Khan, and recently people don't even bother reporting it any more.... What's the point? It's been deprioritised in favour of policing twitter. Just this evening it was reported that legendary comedian Paul Whitehouse was the victim of an attempted mugging in Islington while using a cash machine, it's completely out of control. I'm sure that Khan does get threats from nutters, but my point was that so does Farage, and he doesn't get the same level of publicly funded protection despite having a higher profile. So it's completely below the belt to allege some kind of wrongdoing in funding his own. Per telegraph: "Crime has soared in London in recent years. There were nearly 100,000 thefts or attempted thefts in the capital in 2025, compared with about 45,000 in 2019, Home Office data show. During Sir Sadiq Khan’s tenure as Mayor, knife crime has increased by nearly 72 per cent, sexual offences are 63.2 per cent higher and “theft from the person” – which covers theft and attempts to take items directly from a victim – has more than tripled to nearly 100,000 incidents."

"haven’t got out there yet! " Well worth a visit, but plan your route carefully, there are a few diabolically steep hills on the back roads or if you want to ride to the Lowther golf ball.

@jackcycles So you haven't noticed that knife crime (and violent crime generally) has declined in London whilst Khan had been mayor? Oh and to respond to your whine about Khan having to have personal security? It's because of racist cunts making credible death threats against him. Are you sure you aren't amongst them?

@chrisonabike This is out in the countryside and without Drumlanrig castle being in the neighbourhood it would be empty of both cyclists and pedestrians most of the time.

You've missed out "of".

@Backladder if we had any sense we'd realise that "shared use" is "buying too cheap" in many places. Single small space for both - get not many of either (and everyone is disgruntled). Although ... out in the countryside I believe the Dutch often *only* build "shared use". But they make nice wide cycle paths that people can *also* walk on. But where there will be lots of walkers? A footway *and* a cycle path.