"Steal away": Violent bikejackings targeting cyclists "are doing society a favour", writes journalist in column claiming latest hammer attacks in Regent's Park are "excellent"

The Times newspaper columnist Giles Coren has responded to news of the latest spate of violent bikejackings in London — incidents which saw terrified victims threatened with hammers and pushed off bikes — by penning a column calling the attacks "excellent" and claiming the violent criminals responsible "are doing society a favour".

In the column, titled 'Bikes turned park into a circle of hell — steal away', Coren wrote that it is "good" that police are failing to respond to bikejackings and suggested three robberies in one day was "excellent". 

> "They told me to 'get off the f***ing bike' and pulled out a hammer": Cyclists demand urgent police action after latest violent bikejackings at Regent's Park

The comments come in response to more accounts from cyclists targeted by bikejacking gangs near Regent's Park last month, one rider telling the newspaper, "They told me to 'get off the f***ing bike' and pulled out a hammer". Cyclists who use the park's Outer Circle for early morning training rides have reported feeling like "sitting ducks" but were recently told the police are "unable" to begin patrols before 8am, a claim the Met has since rejected in a pledge to address the "significant concern".

Coren's attempt at a justification for why cyclists apparently deserve to be the victims of violent crimes that are "doing society a favour" is because Regent's Park's Outer Circle has "become a racetrack for cyclists". He suggested "walkers, tourists, children and dogs scatter like victims of a mass shooting as pelotons of Lycra-clad cyclists rage through at speeds that would be illegal for cars, screaming vile four-letter warnings, ignoring lights and islands and hurling abuse at drivers trying to get in and out of their cars".

The piece also referenced the death of Hilda Griffiths, the 81-year-old who in 2022 was hit while crossing a road at Regent's Park by cyclist Brian Fitzgerald as he rode at 29mph, injuries she died from in hospital two months later. The case received extensive media and political attention last summer after a coroner's inquest was told that no charges will be brought against Mr Fitzgerald as the Metropolitan Police confirmed the road's 20mph speed limit does not apply to people riding bicycles and there was "insufficient evidence for a real prospect of conviction".

Coren wrote: "According to a report in The Times, police are failing to respond to a spate of bikejackings in London's Regent's Park. Good. Last month, on one day alone, three bikes worth thousands of pounds were stolen. Excellent.

"I don't know if you know Regent's Park. It is surrounded by a once-peaceful perimeter road called the Outer Circle, from which commercial vehicles are banned, that has lately become a racetrack for cyclists. With cars limited to 20mph, life ought to be sweet for the thousands visiting London Zoo or taking their children to weekend junior football matches. But it isn't.

"Every day, walkers, tourists, children and dogs scatter like victims of a mass shooting as pelotons of Lycra-clad cyclists rage through at speeds that would be illegal for cars, screaming vile four-letter warnings, ignoring lights and islands and hurling abuse at drivers trying to get in and out of their cars.

"It came as no surprise when, in June 2022, one of them killed someone. Hilda Griffiths, 81, was crossing the road with her dog at 7am — exactly the time cycling clubs now say they need police protection — when Brian Fitzgerald ploughed into her at 29mph while doing timed laps with the Muswell Hill Peloton club, and walked free because speed limits don't apply to bikes.

"It's bad enough that cyclists are protected by law when slaughtering pensioners, but now they want a police escort while doing it? No way. Sure, bicycle theft is a crime, just like phone theft. But in the long run, as I've argued before about phone grabbers, the Regent's Park bike-jackers are doing society a favour."

The column follows London bikejackings returning to the spotlight following numerous incidents being reported in the first month of 2025, London cyclists who use the park's quiet roads for early morning training have reported feeling like "sitting ducks", the police's lack of action frustrating many.

The police action Coren referenced was in the form of one club who uses the park contacting the Regent's Park safer neighbourhood policing team to ask whether a car could patrol the area between 5.30am and 7am. 

Adding to riders' disappointment in the police response, they received the reply: "We understand your concern and frustration. Unfortunately, we are unable to change our working hours."

The Met Police yesterday assured us it is able to "direct uniform and plain clothes patrols to target criminals at peak offending times" and a spokesperson insisted that the comment from the safer neighbourhood policing team did not paint the full picture.

One of the latest riders to be targeted was Bethan Lloyd-Glass who was attacked at around 5.45am on January 14, her Trek Émonda stolen by moped muggers who shouted 'give me your f***ing bike' and pushed her to the ground.

"I was on my way to the park when two men drove past me," she recalled. "I thought it was quite ­unusual to see pillion riders at that time of the morning. We stopped at a red light and the passenger got off the bike, said to me, ‘Give me your f***ing bike’, then pushed me to the floor. Then he swung the bike on his shoulder, got back on the motorbike and drove off."

In a similar incident Patrick Conneely reported being threatened with a hammer after he turned around to try and escape.

"I was meeting some friends in the park and was a bit early so did a lap by myself," he explained. "A moped pulled up with two men on and one started looking at the brand. I knew I was in trouble so turned around and so did they.

"They told me to 'get off the f***ing bike' and pulled out a hammer. Someone called the police and they were there in about five ­minutes. They said it was the third or fourth call that morning. Cyclists are really scared."

The chairman of Regent's Park Cyclists, Sean Epstein, said he initially had "sympathy" for the police investigating the bikejackings that have since become an increasingly common occurrence.

"The first few times it happened because the robbers wore balaclavas, they had no number plates, there were no leads," he said. "But it keeps ­happening and there's no plan to do anything about it."

> New figures reveal two bikejackings a day now taking place in London

The high-value nature of bikes has made them a concerningly common target for criminals in recent years. We've reported on numerous incidents involving professional riders, club riders and businesses being targeted in increasingly organised break-ins, as well as these frightening bikejacking incidents where riders have been robbed of their bikes during training rides.

The violent nature of the incidents targeting riders near Regent's Park has been particularly shocking, with victims threatened with knives and other weapons.

And as if to prove the point that these crimes are nothing new and have not been dealt with by the Metropolitan Police, it's a year this week since Regent's Park Cyclists, supported by British Cycling, Rapha, and Brompton, called on the Met to station more officers at the London crime hotspot in a bid to stem the seemingly constant flow of bikejackings.

Last year The Times compared the robberies to similar crimes committed by "Rolex ripper" gangs targeting high-value watches in London, and reported that bikejacking victims had been told by the police that they believed the robberies are being carried out by an Albanian gang that is shipping the bikes to Russia, where high-end bikes are difficult to obtain due to sanctions.