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Van driver filmed forcing cyclist off road; BBC Sussex asks "Who's to blame?"

Broadcaster deletes tweet after being slammed for insensitive attempt to start 'debate'...

BBC Sussex has deleted a tweet in which it asked "Who's to blame here? The cyclist or the van?" in relation to an incident in which a van driver, who was subsequently sacked, was filmed forcing a cyclist off the road.

Footage of the incident received blanket media coverage over the weekend and as we reported on Sunday, once it came to the attention of the managing director of Vidette UK Ltd, the company the van belonged to, the driver's employment was immediately terminated.

> VIDEO: Van driver forces cyclist off road; QC offers help to sue

Despite the company's firm action and apology, BBC Sussex framed the incident on Twitter this morning in a way that suggested the cyclist, who managed to remain upright and escaped without injury, may have done something wrong.

Its tweet was condemned by a number of Twitter users, including cycling campaigners, media figures and even West Midlands Police, and was later deleted - but not before a screengrab had been taken of it by several Twitter users, including the Guardian’s Peter Walker.

After the original tweet had been deleted, BBC Sussex claimed it had been trying "to stimulate debate," adding that "the wording was ill judged."

However, a number of people replying questioned why the broadcaster even felt that there was a "debate" to be had in the first place.

Here's the footage that prompted BBC Sussex to ask who was "to blame."

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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