The UK government has agreed to a change in the law which would make causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling an offence. The proposed amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill would create an offence of causing death or serious injury by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling for which perpetrators could face up to 14 years in prison. The change follows campaigning by Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith who proposed the amendment to ensure that cycling takes place “in a safe and reasonable manner”.
The amendment has been proposed following the case of Matthew Briggs whose wife died in 2016 after a collision with a cyclist. Sir Iain told MPs that the legal process for Briggs’ attempt to get the cyclist prosecuted “was so convoluted and difficult” that even the presiding judge highlighted concerns. Transport Secretary Mark Harper supported the change saying the “tiny minority who recklessly disregard others” should be held accountable for their actions.
During the Criminal Justice Bill debate, other amendments from backbench MPs including one that stripped child rapists of parental rights were accepted. Labour MP Harriet Harman proposed the change after a BBC report of a mother who spent £30,000 preventing the father of her child, a convicted paedophile, from having access to their daughter. Other amendments the government agreed to include tougher sentences for those found guilty of sexually abusing dead people and the creation of a criminal offence for “cuckooing”, where a person takes over a vulnerable person’s home for illicit purposes.
The debate on the Criminal Justice Bill will continue before it is sent to the House of Lords.
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