A barrister has found himself at the centre of a media storm over the question of whether the police are right to confront cyclists who ride with no hands.

Paul Powlesland, of London set Garden Court Chambers, filmed an encounter with a City of London Police officer who he claimed had stopped him for ‘cycling no-handed’. 

During the clip, lasting just over one minute, Powlesland cross-examines the faltering officer over the legal basis for the stop, extracting the eyebrow-raising explanation that cycling with no hands ‘contravenes Article 2 of the Human Rights Act’ (the right to life).

Sharing the clip on social media yesterday, Powlesland branded the stop ‘utterly bonkers stuff’ and a waste of police resources in a city where bicycle theft has been ‘basically legalised’.

But the City of London Police have responded by claiming Powlesland approached the officer on 2 April because she had previously issued him with a ticket. 'On March 5 2025, the officer observed the cyclist riding with his arms stretched out wide and off the handlebars during rush hour', the police spokesperson said. 'The officer stopped the cyclist and issued him with a ticket for careless and inconsiderate cycling under s29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.'

A ticket was processed on 19 May, the police said, vowing that if the ticket was contested ‘officers will attend court and present any relevant evidence that we have obtained’.

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