“This kind of ‘journalism’ really really irks me”: Cyclists question “contemptible” BBC News e-bike segment full of “absolute rot”; Silca compares Muc-Off to WD40 in Insta spat; Final series of Netflix’s Tour de France show is live + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tour de France 2025, your ultimate stage-by-stage guide: Everything you need to know about the world's biggest bike race
Elsewhere on the BBC this morning... 16 'e-bikes' crushed by council
Heads over to BBC website after writing opening piece on e-bike coverage… reads headline… closes laptop and walks away… returns to share on live blog (obviously).
It’s since been updated with the word ‘illegal’, although as we touched on in the earlier post, illegally modified or unregistered ‘e-motorbikes’ would be closer to the truth.
Shimano set to provide extra two years' warranty to US cyclists with defective cranks along with additional tools and training to retailers to "overhaul" its crankset recall process
The great lube war of 2025: Silca compares Muc-Off to WD40 in Insta spat
We present to you for your amusement, entertainment and a fair bit of cringing: the great lube war of 2025.
It all started with a post, Silca advertising its pre-waxed chains. “Cleaner, faster, and last longer than oil based lube,” the brand suggested, adding there’s “no better solution to the chain lubrication problem”.
Now, Muc-Off’s admin couldn’t help themself and had to have a nibble at that, pointing out the fact that well, Silca can’t have much faith in it’s own range of oil-based lubes. Cue the retaliation…
It didn’t stop there…
Can someone at the respective offices please confiscate all electronic devices and tell those involved to log-out and go for a bike ride, we can’t take much more cringing. Anyway, Dynamic Bike Care had the right idea.
Oh, give me strength, they’re still going, Silca going in one more time: “We are not even talking about their (WD40’s) chain lube… we are talking about the aerosol penetrating oil…”
Final series of Netflix's Tour de France show is live
It’s back.
Anyone watched any of it yet? I’ll be impressed if you have, maybe a sneaky episode on the commute?
12 of England's regional mayors back plan for 'national active travel network'
Interesting news in The Guardian this morning, Peter Walker reporting that 12 of England’s regional mayors have backed an “unprecedented” plan for a national active travel network, focusing initially on helping children to walk, cycle or scoot to school safely.
All of England’s non-London regional mayors, excluding one from Reform UK, have backed the efforts to devolve transport planning and work with Active Travel England to implement schemes.
Walker reports it has the backing of Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, the figure familiar from the Covid pandemic commenting that it has the potential to “significantly improve” public health and benefit 20 million people.
While one Reform UK mayor isn’t involved, former pro boxer-turned-Reform mayor in Hull and East Yorkshire, Luke Campbell, has joined nine Labour mayors and two Conservative mayors in supporting the joint pledge to “work together to improve our streets for everyone, for the benefit of the health, wellbeing and connectedness of our communities”.
The initial focus will be improving trips to and from school, with a pledge to create a combined 3,500 miles of routes safely linking schools to homes, town and city centres, and transport hubs.
“If you start with asking people, do you want that for your kids, you’ll have a very, very strong, powerful and politically popular – yes,” Active Travel England head Chris Boardman explained. “So if there are mayors and leaders who are not standing next to that, then they have to be accountable for their choice.
“I want to see fear of missing out. If we get to a point where x per cent of kids in an area have the freedom to walk or ride to school, I think we’ll see parents in neighbouring streets and communities thinking, hang on, why can’t we have that?”
Whitty added: “Increasing physical activity has health benefits across the life course. As part of this, we need to make walking and cycling more accessible, and safer, as well as access to green space easier and more equitable. This will help remove barriers to improving physical activity levels and could significantly improve the health of England’s increasingly urban population.”
London mayor Sadiq Khan is obviously not counted as a regional mayor but signed the pledge in support regardless, the other 12 mayors listed here: Tracy Brabin (Labour) of West Yorkshire, Paul Bristow (Tory) of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Andy Burnham (Labour) of Greater Manchester, Luke Campbell (Reform UK) of Hull and East Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard (Labour) of South Yorkshire, Helen Godwin (Labour), the West of England mayor, Ben Houchen (Tory) of Tees Valley, Kim McGuinness (Labour), the North East mayor, Richard Parker (Labour) of the West Midlands, Steve Rotheram (Labour), the Liverpool City Region mayor, David Skaith (Labour) of York and North Yorkshire, Claire Ward (Labour), mayor of the East Midlands.
Cross-party support and collaboration, a Boardman-devised strategy for winning around sceptics, infrastructure projects overseen by local authorities for their region? This is all looking quite positive isn’t it?
"Wait until they see this...": More Instagram sass, this time involving Farr and Canyon
Everyone’s feeling very lively online this morning, aren’t they? If you’re wondering what’s being referenced here…
> Canyon goes bananas with another crazy cockpit creation for all new Grizl adventure bike
An homage to France: Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe go blue, white and red for the Tour de France
Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe have unveiled the shiny new kit and bikes that Primož Roglič and Florian Lipowitz will be wearing and riding at this year’s Tour de France. The colourway is an homage to the world’s biggest bike race — blue, red and white in the colours of the French flag, while “the gradient design is inspired by France’s diverse landscapes”… whatever that means.
Their S-Works Tarmac SL8s will of course be getting a matching colourway, that a deep blue finish. Specialized is only making 500 of these and they’re available on the brand’s website now (if you’ve got $16,000/£11,700) to spend.
And how much stuff are you bringing to the Tour this year then?
It’s probably one of the more jarring aspects of professional cycling, the sport based around one of the greenest modes of transport, but which has an enormous circus of travelling, miles driven and vehicles. Here’s Lotto’s video showing just how much goes along with a team to the race. Now times that by 23, add in all the logistical stuff too and you’ve got an enormous operation racking up miles around France.
TNT Sports says Tour de France coverage will be "next-level", but will you be watching?
TNT Sports is preparing for its first year broadcasting the Tour de France, an edition which will also be the last year of free-to-air coverage on ITV. Ahead of the race, TNT has been in touch to outline its plans and said the offering for those paying £30.99-a-month would be “next level”.
The quad screen from the Giro will be back and recently retired Romain Bardet has been roped in for punditry duties.
Scott Young, EVP at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe said: “In a golden era for the sport, cycling continues to captivate our audiences as riders keep pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible on a bike. To match the level of thrilling racing from the peloton, we are levelling up our coverage of this historic race this year to include even more ways for fans to enjoy every stage in all their glory.
“We are excited to introduce new storytelling innovations such as our quad screen feature. And by adding another superstar storyteller in Romain Bardet to our presentation team alongside fellow legends of the sport, we know fans will benefit from fresh insights and experience, ensuring our coverage is fit for the modern era. This ultimate cycling package has already attracted the attention of some the world’s biggest brands, which we have partnered with the further enhance our storytelling, and we know our viewers will love the enhanced coverage we will deliver this year.”
Thoughts? Will you be watching on TNT or taking in the final year of ITV coverage? Has the TNT offering convinced you to pay £30.99-a-month to watch cycling? We’ll get a poll going in the next post…
Another normal day in the world of pro cycling
How’s your training for the Tour going, mate?
Ah, you know, pretty good, did that session again today where I dress up in a bin bag to simulate the heat…
Comment of the day
Great spot, NotNigel.
Miller: “I’m getting a strong AI-generated vibe here, that and graphic artists with no idea what a cyclist looks like.”
"Tenner or I take you to court": Cabbies "lawfully" using cradle-mounted mobile phones while driving are allegedly being targeted by copycat camera cyclists
Ineos Grenadiers name Tour team after Dave B's last-minute input
Geraint Thomas has recovered from his Tour de Suisse crash enough to take to the start in Lille, the Welshman breaking the news himself with his customary pre-Tour haircut pic.
Ineos Grenadiers have since confirmed the rest of the team, newly crowned British national champion Sam Watson getting the last-minute call up to join Carlos Rodriguez, Filippo Ganna, Thymen Arensmann, Tobias Foss, Axel Laurance and Thomas.
Transfer specialist Daniel Benson reported earlier today that the delay in the Ineos team being announced was because “Dave Brailsford is back in a big way”.
“He’s deciding the Tour team. Was being finalised last night,” Benson wrote. We’re getting the band back together, anyone got Vasil Kiryienka’s phone number?
"Middle-aged men in Lycra" stereotypes and media culture war clichés about cycling are harming public health, says Chris Whitty
WD40 joins the lube war... or at least watches on
That’s enough internet for one day, I’ll catch you all in the morning to see if this conflict escalates…
"This kind of 'journalism' really really irks me": Cyclists question "contemptible" BBC News e-bike segment full of "absolute rot"
E-bikes were back at the centre of a BBC Breakfast report this morning, the broadcaster having previously faced criticism for its coverage of electric bikes, notably in a recent Panorama episode hosted by Adrian Chiles which sparked complaints about it being “misleading and damaging”.
In fact, as the official complaints rolled in, one bike shop owner told the BBC, “Finding a wolf in sheep’s clothing should not be a reason to attack sheep”, that after the episode presented a “negative portrayal” of electric bikes but showed “very few legitimate e-bikes shown on-screen” – instead focusing on illegally modified or unregistered ‘e-motorbikes’.
Well, e-bikes are back on the BBC, celebrity chef Aldo Zilli on the BBC One Breakfast programme this morning to explain how his mother-in-law was injured in a collision with an electric hire bike rider who hit her while riding through a red light. Terrible, of course, and nobody who we’ve seen online take issue with this morning’s segment would fail to condemn that incident or suggest such dangerous riding is acceptable or aids cycling’s cause.
The issue, as plenty have pointed out online, is that what followed was a wide-ranging attack on electric bikes as a whole (and in some parts, bikes which are the BBC’s old favourite, not e-bikes, but illegally modified or unregistered e-motorbikes).
Zilli claimed “something needs to change” and urged government action as London is “saturated” with bikes. Interestingly, we note no answer was given by him, nor the question even raised by the BBC, about what would happen to the transport network and roads if the thousands of people who travel around the capital by bike were to get around by car, bus or the tube instead.
Anyway, Zilli then claimed the pavement outside his restaurant is “mayhem” and people can’t eat outside due to dangerous e-bike riders. “What needs to happen before anything is done?” he asked.
According to IAM RoadSmart’s director of policy and standards Nicholas Lynes, if we want change on the roads and improved safety, “It’s vital that the government looks at all solutions that could reduce deaths on our roads, including the improvement of driving skills, managing in-vehicle distractions and effective enforcement of the so-called ‘fatal four’: speeding; drink or drug driving; not wearing a seatbelt; and using a mobile phone.”
It’s why many cyclists react with frustration to these segments, more so when it’s not a talking-head radio segment or ‘grabby’ TV piece, but on the BBC. As active travel commissioner Chris Boardman has repeatedly pointed out, 30,000 people are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads every year, but “less than three [were] involving a cyclist”. Zilli will, of course, be outside Parliament on Monday morning asking what can be done about the 30,000, while BBC Breakfast question the main causes of road danger and fatalities.
The ‘stats’ cited on the BBC segment were somewhat less precise, Zilli saying incidents with e-bikes are “happening every day, all over the country”.
“Clearly it’s a problem,” he added, the TV images cutting to pictures of police confiscating illegally modified or unregistered e-motorbikes as the e-bike talk continued. “It’s happening every day now, people are losing lives, people are losing limbs.”
One clip that’s been doing the rounds is this one:
Utterly despicable reporting on BBC Breakfast this morning allowing someone to spout bullshit and lies without being held to account. This has to be one of the worst ones. If only people had their licences removed for driving on pavements. Then pavement parking wouldn’t exist.
— Cargo Bike Ben (@cargobikeben.bsky.social) 2 July 2025 at 07:33
Cargo Bike Ben added in a later post: “Of course, being a BBC ‘both sides’ talking head, it was full of factual inaccuracies like conflating e-bikes with illegal electric motorcycles, spouting of spurious claims of hundreds of people being killed or maimed by bikes and no difference between being made between commuters & delivery riders.”
Others questioned why good news stories about e-bikes being transformational for helping people cycle journeys they’d otherwise drive doesn’t get the same coverage, while Girl on a Brompton reacted: “Let every cyclist drive a car on Monday morning. Let every train and bus commuter bring a car into town too. If they can. Let’s show the BBC what anti-cycling really does.”
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
47 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
the National Bus and Rail Union told the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) the following month, saying the requirements (making the cyclist scum wear helmets and HiViz) would, “make the roads a safer place, as it would make potential hazards easier to spot.” Nothing to do with driver behaviour then? Stagecoach is even putting intimidating threats against cyclists on the side of the buses now! ttps://upride.cc/incident/px60beo_stagecoach41-closepass/
.......the government was focused on the “enormity of the e-scooter problem” Just wait until they find out how absolutely effing gigantic the car problem is. The whole thing is just motornormativity at government level, and while Ciarán Cannon talks sense, Seán Canney is fecking eejit.
40% of fatal road incidents (70 deaths p.a.) in Ireland involve excess alcohol. Pass a law mandating compulsory alcohol interlocks for all motor vehicles and see what that does for road safety first.
@mitsky I didn't say it was applicable in this case or that I thought it should be, I was simply answering your question as to whether anyone had ever shot someone and been charged with anything other than murder or attempted murder, to which the answer is yes.
@perce The new troll, my friend, is solely piss and wind, the new troll is solely piss and wind.
Very correct price for a basic, no-frills frameset. Older and wiser -after a warranty case on a '100 year' Ti frameset that lasted 5 years before a drive side chain stay weld said sayonara- I'll never again purchase a really high cost Ti frame. If the replacement -3999 Euro at retail but I paid 800, which is what it took for them to +- honour the warranty- fails, I'm done. Firstly because they do fail. Titanium is very finicky where welding conditions are concerned and good luck with that warranty, better read the wording very carefully. Secondly, often the price is justified with 'it's a frame for life'. Errrr....yes, unless you decide you want something different after 5 years, it breaks or technology evolves to a point where your frameset becomes aa anachronism and after 10 years you can start hunting for spares(UDH and disc brakes, anyone?). Third: I'm getting a bit tired reading about these so-called 'magical' properties of Ti. The only magical thing about it is the corrosion resistance. All that absorbing of vibrations etc is mainly function of frame design/geometry. If you want vibration damping: larger tires, lower pressure, done.
True,but I can't count thé number of times I've seen him on TV as an invited expert for comments since
"...there was enough suspicion to warrant an out-of-hours knock on the door for the Tour’s then-top two." A generic statement that sounds like a cover-your-arse mumbling. Can they be more specific? Nope. Good to see Vaughters join Lefevere to add up some controversy to the very politically correct pro peloton. In the late 1990s and early noughties, when cycling was becoming a global phenomenom, officials, race organisers and team managers turned a blind eye on doping. Nobody wanted to slay the goose with golden eggs.
Am I missing something. Pogacar would be firm favourite no matter what you did unless you made it a very flat edition which no one would want. Outside of Pogacar its all up for grabs. You can't build a good multi-week race with Pogacar in the form he is in. Take Pogacar out and this would be fine.
Sounds a little like a pissed off driver decided to teach a cyclist a lesson by brake checking them after overtaking them. I hope I am wrong.
47 thoughts on ““This kind of ‘journalism’ really really irks me”: Cyclists question “contemptible” BBC News e-bike segment full of “absolute rot”; Silca compares Muc-Off to WD40 in Insta spat; Final series of Netflix’s Tour de France show is live + more on the live blog”
The BBC are pro’s at
The BBC are pro’s at misleading people. This is no exception to the rest of the rot that comes from that organisation. Most science articles are flawed and biased, same with political content. The masses of the people are easily fooled, and these jesters know it.
Wake up sheeple, eh? Lol
Wake up sheeple, eh? Lol
alexuk wrote:
Most things that people write aren’t even wrong.
Can I just mention that this
Can I just mention that this morning on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, they had an article asking whether the police should put more effort into Red Light Jumping cyclists. I didn’t see the whole article as it came on just as I was leaving for work. But I did find this article, which I can’t read as I don’t do FacePlant:
https://www.facebook.com/GMB/photos/the-city-of-london-police-has-fined-nearly-300-cyclists-so-far-this-year-for-rid/1250778099752555/?_rdr
Maybe this could/will be an upcoming article on Road.cc.
Maybe they should cover red
Maybe they should cover red light jumping (and accelerating on amber) motorists who do far more damage to lives?
The BBC has lost all
The BBC has lost all credibility as a purveyor of news. It has had 14 years of political appointments to senior posts and as a consequence is another politically biased right wing “mouth on a stick”.
There is a reason that most of their credible journalists were made redundant or left. Newsnight is a shadow of it’s former self, Question Farage Time is a farce. I feel sorry for the quality journalists that remain, Victoria Derbyshire, is not perfect but a different class to the politically biased Kuenssenberg.
You’ve missed the point.
You’ve missed the point. Inspite of Road.CC’s claim to the contrary neither the BBC breakfast show nor its ITV cousin are news programs. They are morning magazine programs with a bit of tabloid tat thrown in to generate excitement and viewing figures. Its not really any different to Jezza Vine’s 5 programs.
Its got nothing to with News.
Secret_squirrel wrote:
BBC Breakfast’s own Facebook page describes it as ” Britain’s most watched and BAFTA award-winning morning news programme.”
That’s just more fake news
That’s just more fake news 😛
I like the regional news
I like the regional news shows, travel and weather on both of them as I’m getting ready for the commute/work.
Any idea what the rider is
Any idea what the rider is doing on this graphic?
Competing in the Ironman?
Competing in the Ironman?
The bbc have always been
The bbc have always been economical in their reporting and on occasions outright lies.
I’m getting a strong AI
I’m getting a strong AI-generated vibe here, that and graphic artists with no idea what a cyclist looks like.
Miller wrote:
The query was likely “Silhouette of a MAMIL riding an e-bike” only the AI didn’t care about out how the silhouette of rider who typically uses drop handlebars fits onto a hybrid-style bike.
I’m guessing that’s why they
I’m guessing that’s why they went through the red light – they weren’t able to work out where the handlebars were, so weren’t able to brake.
Clearly cycling their
Clearly cycling their invisible bike past a visible bike being ridden by an invisible rider. Obvious really.
Trying to re-thread internal
Trying to re-thread internal (infernal?) cables on the move?
Pursuing aero gains.
Pursuing aero gains.
More aero?…
More aero?…
Any idea what the rider is
.
Perhaps they were trying to
Perhaps they were trying to give the bike confidence in its ability to steer itself – just giving it a reassuring pat on the head tube?
Haha, yes it does look
Haha, yes it does look similar to when an equestrian rider has just finished their round, commending their horse on getting them round the course.
TNT can quite simply fuck off
TNT can quite simply fuck off!
They will be getting 30 odd
They will be getting 30 odd quid from me for the month of July after this one. I’m not relying on their sometimes not on highlights on quest for the Tour
Regarding the How are you
Regarding the How are you Watching the TdF poll, could an IN PERSON option be added? I will be!
.
.
There is very little point in
There is very little point in complaining to the BBC as their priority is to avoid admitting any error. It is as if they fear that admitting fallibility will cost them their credibility.
Years ago I complained about a factually inaccurate statement regarding air pollution on the Embankment. After an initial fob-off I exchanged half a dozen emails over several months before giving up. The people I was corresponding with initially insisted that their article was accurate, then simply reflective of opinions, before becoming unsupported but okay because an earlier paragraph had referenced the LCC. At no point did anyone directly acknowledge that pollution had not increased, which was the sole basis of my complaint.
There is a programme on
There is a programme on Saturday morning on the BBC News channel called Newswatch where they get BBC editors to respond to complainants.
It should be called “Newswash”.
On regional mayors: let’s
On regional mayors: let’s face it, if Ben Houchen of Tees Valley is in favour of it then it means that he or one of his friends and relations has some land to sell for use as cycling infrastructure. No way he’d be in favour of it unless he could make money from it
On regional mayors: here’s
On regional mayors: here’s the Grauniad’s article, speaking to Chris Whitty:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/02/chris-whitty-culture-wars-cycling-health-nhs
brooksby wrote:
Oh, bugger – you beat me to it. I just came here to post that!
So much about which to be
So much about which to be pedantic. Where does one start?
Not sure if the fault is in Chris Boardman’s original comment or in the reporting, but of course 30,000 people are not killed or seriously injured every year. Now, of course the seriosuly injury component opens up the possibility of repetition but, by and large, people are only killed once. A very small sample may be seriously injured every year, or SId one year and killed the next. Broadly speaking, however, it is a different sample each year that is killed or seriously injured.
Pedantic? Perhaps; but there’s a serious point behind it. Each year, that’s 30,000 more people killed or whose lives are seriously changed. 30,000 more families (family connections excepted) mourning a loved one or filling the gap of their productive contribution. 30,000 economic links disrupted and futures denied.
Each year, more, not the same.
Every year, [another] 30,000 people are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads.
“… less than three…”
Just to tidy this point up, I’m assuming it’s intended as a rate, not a quantity. Otherwise it would be “fewer”. however, if it is the same 3 cyclists every year, it would be “fewer”.
Good point! (Although I’m not sure Road.cc made that error.)
NNNNGGGGAAAAHHHHH! They’re programmes!
Are it?
That’s better.
You remind me of the old joke
You remind me of the old joke, so old that I can’t remember who was responsible for the original, someone like Ken Dodd or Tommy Cooper: “In London, a man is mugged every three-and-a-half minutes. Isn’t that terrible? He must be really fed up by now.”
I was the victim, which is
I was the victim, which is why it hurts so much.
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn
It was quite impressive to
It was quite impressive to include quite so many examples of pedantry in the one post and be wrong about almost all of them, though.
Last week BBC breakfast had
Last week BBC breakfast had an interview with a lady about e scooters (see link). Whilst my heart goes out to any parent that loses a child, she went on about greater regulation and was never corrected by the interviwer regarding the current laws on e scooters.
It is not balanced reporting to give a voice to someone that is ill informed regardless of their personal tradegy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2d04lykn82o
https://www.bristol247.com
https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/new-pedestrian-crossings-installed/
They’re putting a zebra crossing and parallel cycle crossing by the Pump House, for people crossing from the Harbourside to the Portway.
What do those of us without
What do those of us without regional mayor’s get from this announcement then ?
I guess we watch on as London, Cambridge and Manchester get even more money for active travel, because they’re totally the places that need it.
Will road.cc investigate the
Will road.cc investigate the TdF carbon footprint, atmospheric and noise pollution, interview environmentalists about the garbage left behind and damage done by the millions of followers (motorists, RV-drivers) over the next 3 weeks? On the hand, we are told that cycling is good for mankind and the planet. On the other hand, we have this yearly crazy cycling circus that generates a silly amount of rubbish, including 100,000 plastic bidons, which are reusable and recyclable.
As a matter of fact, Lotto pro-cycling website shows no reference to environmental policies or sustainability efforts.
Has the TdF ever claimed to
Has the TdF ever claimed to be ‘Green’ or have a low carbon footprint?
I seem to recall that there are some international cycling events where travel by air is not allowed; there’s also plenty of Endurance and Audax events that don’t have these massive vehicle and waste footprints.
But … no-one would watch them on TV as they aren’t the riveting balls to the wall race that TdF is.
Oldfatgit wrote:
There are some quite good films about them out there, though. I watched one recently on Amazon about (IIRC) London-Edinburgh-London.
I love the the entirety of
I love that the entirety of your research on this seems to be a random look at the website of a Belgian cycling team. In the grand scheme of things, the TdF’s emissions per spectator are probably almost zero. Plenty of bigger outrages in pro cycling and professional sports to get yourself all wound up about.
A 2021 audit put the carbon
A 2021 audit put the carbon footprint of the Tour at 216,388 tonnes of CO2, 37% down on the figure a decade earlier, and the ASO has pledged to cut emissions further to 50% of previous levels by 2030. The UCI has pledged to make all teams carbon neutral by 2030 and any team which hasn’t halved its carbon footprint of 2019 by 2027 will lose its World Tour licence. 96% of the Tour’s carbon footprint is from fans travelling to spectate, dealing with those emissions is an issue for society, not the Tour. What do you want them to do, barricade the whole route and only allow those who cycled there to stand roadside?
WD40 doesn’t give you pink or
WD40 doesn’t give you pink or blue build up that is almost impossible to shift.
The BBC is clearly running an
The BBC is clearly running an anti-ebike campaign, with Panorama, R4 Today and now Breakfast joining in. They all feature conflation of legal ebikes with illegal electric motorcycles, highly inaccurate and misleading misinformation, and the exclusion of counter opinions. This can’t be coincidence, especially when you consider how many complaints were made about the Panorama programme.
What is especially concerning is that this is a “controversial subject” as defined by their own Editorial Guidelines because it is the subject of impending legislation, and therefore subject to much tighter control, which should ensure that it is factually accurate and counter opinions always included.
The BBC’s bias against cycling is well documented, especially their decades-long helmet promotion campaign, but all complaints fail because the BBC was judge and jury in its complaints system, and Ofcom have proved no better.
I raised the subject of BBC bias yesterday at the York AT conference, but no less than Peter Walker, cycling correspondent for the Guardian, dismissed it as just another attack on the beleagured BBC. Unfortunately, I couldn’t respond to point out the many egregious incidents of bias. Surely it’s ok to attack the BBC when they get it so wrong?