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London cabbie allegedly told Guardian journo, Owen Jones "I f*cking love it when you cyclists die"

Incident being investigated by TfL’s taxi and private hire complaints team

Author and Guardian columnist Owen Jones has accused a London cabbie of nearly knocking him off his bike while using his phone at the wheel. Jones says the cabbie then screamed "I fucking love it when you cyclists die" at him.

Jones, the author of Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class and The Establishment – And How They Get Away With It, tweeted a picture of the cabbie in question on Wednesday.

According to Jones, the cabbie then said: "Go and play with some fucking traffic lights for all I care," and when told that Jones planned to put this on Twitter, added: "Good, I'll smile for the camera."

Jones said the driver “exploded” at him after he had gestured to him to get off his phone.

Jones has since been tweeted by Transport for London’s Taxi and Private Hire account, which said: “Hi Owen – sorry to hear about this – we hope you're ok. I've sent your tweets to our complaints team. If you have more information about this incident (e.g. date, time and location) please DM it to us and we can add it to the report.”

The account subsequently stated: “We are concerned to learn of this incident & the alleged conduct of a licensed taxi driver. We have contacted Mr Jones and have launched an investigation into this incident.”

While some questioned Jones’ account, others leapt to his defence, including Jeremy Vine.

Jones himself seemed keen to deflect accusations that he had an issue with cabbies in general.

Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association told the London Evening Standard:

“It is not yet clear whether the driver in question was an LTDA member, and without a badge number we can not determine this.

"However,  we would condemn such shocking and reckless behaviour – by any cabbie – for putting himself and other road users at risk. The driver in question has put their license in jeopardy and we would urge TfL as the regulator for our industry to undertake an investigation.”

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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23 comments

Avatar
J90 | 7 years ago
5 likes

I hope his kids take up cycling.

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beezus fufoon | 7 years ago
4 likes

I've had the same from a few London cabbies - at the risk of stereotyping, they do seem to come across as a bunch of daily mail readers!

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Jimnm | 7 years ago
3 likes

It's just some fucktard cabbie mouthing off cos he'll be a fat out of shape wanker and is jelious of cyclists fitness. Fuck him !!IMO 

Avatar
RTB | 7 years ago
1 like

Nightmare scenario: taxi driver AND a Grauniad journo.  Halloween proportions when it is Owen Jones, a prize pilchard and that's on a good day.

Avatar
barbarus replied to RTB | 7 years ago
3 likes
RTB wrote:

Nightmare scenario: taxi driver AND a Grauniad journo.  Halloween proportions when it is Owen Jones, a prize pilchard and that's on a good day.

So exactly what is it about Owen that you don't like?

Avatar
RTB replied to barbarus | 7 years ago
0 likes
barbarus wrote:
RTB wrote:

Nightmare scenario: taxi driver AND a Grauniad journo.  Halloween proportions when it is Owen Jones, a prize pilchard and that's on a good day.

So exactly what is it about Owen that you don't like?

List is long but the fact he has a gob and opens it would cover most of it.  Empty suit and a gobshite, bad combo.

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Richard D | 7 years ago
2 likes

Some of those comments on his Twitter feed are truly depressing.

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hawkinspeter | 7 years ago
4 likes

Sounds like a hate crime to me.

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handlebarcam | 7 years ago
1 like

There's a man who is taking his country back. Unfortunately, his country is a fantasy land in which cycling carries the death penalty. But, you know, people have had enough of realists.

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davel replied to handlebarcam | 7 years ago
1 like
handlebarcam wrote:

There's a man who is taking his country back. Unfortunately, his country is a fantasy land in which cycling carries the death penalty. But, you know, people have had enough of realists.

Yay, let's fight lazy stereotyping with lazy stereotyping.

Alternatively.... Here's an Owen Jones piece https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/ju...

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ktache | 7 years ago
2 likes

I cannot wait for the baby faced polemicist to write this up in full.

His books are good, I like his columns, and he is always entertaining on any TV work he does.

I am now going to read what he has to say about cycling.

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Bob Wheeler CX | 7 years ago
9 likes

you'd think in this day and age, a licenced cab driver would be identifiable in hours, even minutes

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RedfishUK replied to Bob Wheeler CX | 7 years ago
22 likes
Bob Wheeler CX wrote:

you'd think in this day and age, a licenced cab driver would be identifiable in hours, even minutes

 

That's why they all look the same 40-50, Bald, over weight. There is a lab in Romford where they are cloned.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to RedfishUK | 7 years ago
4 likes
RedfishUK wrote:
Bob Wheeler CX wrote:

you'd think in this day and age, a licenced cab driver would be identifiable in hours, even minutes

That's why they all look the same 40-50, Bald, over weight. There is a lab in Romford where they are cloned.

Otherwise known as a brothel.

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Metaphor | 7 years ago
6 likes

This is exactly why I never use taxis.

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earth | 7 years ago
3 likes

Driverless cars

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emishi55 replied to earth | 7 years ago
3 likes
earth wrote:

Driverless cars

car-less drivers?

 

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Accessibility f... | 7 years ago
7 likes

> "The driver in question has put their license in jeopardy"

...in an alternate universe.

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tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
4 likes

'Oh he's just having a bad day, leave him alone' - usual carte blanche muppetry on Twitter. 

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Alessandro | 7 years ago
7 likes

I I f*cking love it when you scabbies start to go out of business. Going the way of the dinosaurs, I suspect. Having said that, it'd probably be safer sharing a road with a T-Rex than most taxi drivers. 

Avatar
Gourmet Shot replied to Alessandro | 7 years ago
2 likes
AST1986 wrote:

I I f*cking love it when you scabbies start to go out of business. Going the way of the dinosaurs, I suspect. Having said that, it'd probably be safer sharing a road with a T-Rex than most taxi drivers. 

Its on its way...give it 10 - 15 years and Lorries, cabbies and buses wont exist....they will be unmanned electric vehicles 

Avatar
MandaiMetric replied to Gourmet Shot | 7 years ago
0 likes
Gourmet Shot wrote:

Its on its way...give it 10 - 15 years and Lorries, cabbies and buses wont exist....they will be unmanned electric vehicles 

There's a (very limited) driverless taxi pilot underway in Singapore already.

Avatar
Jackson | 7 years ago
25 likes

The LTDA are always saying you never know who could be driving your Uber. It would be funny if they claimed to be unable to identify a cabbie based on his cab number, licence plate and face.

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