This is the moment a frustrated barrister ticketed for allegedly cycling no-handed confronted the police officer who fined him.
Paul Powlesland posted a video of the ‘utterly bonkers’ encounter with the female City of London officer on social media.
It came after he was accused of ‘careless and inconsiderate cycling’ under Section 29 of the Road Traffic Act on March 5 by the officer.
He later filmed a separate altercation with the police woman after approaching her in Queen Victoria Street on April 2 – before posting the video today.
In the clip, the climate change campaigner appeared to grill the officer over why he had been fined for ‘cycling no-handed’ – which he claimed was not an offence.
Mr Powlesland asks: ‘So anyone cycling no-handed in rush hour is going to get ticketed?’ ‘If I see them, yes,’ replies the officer.
The barrister then hits out, accusing the police of wasting resources while describing the bike theft rate plaguing the capital as ‘endemic’.
‘You don’t even investigate most bike theft,’ he tells the female cop. ‘There’s phone snatching going on – you could be getting robbers.
‘You’re letting phone snatchers and bike thieves go to ticket law-abiding citizens cycling no-handed. Do you honestly think that’s a good use of City of London Police time?’
A cyclist allegedly caught riding no-handed confronted a police officer about the fine
Barrister and climate change campaigner Paul Powlesland says the move was ‘utterly bonkers’
Pictured is Mr Powlesland’s post on X, which has been seen almost 800,000 times
The officer, who was armed with a Taser, replies: ‘Cycling with no hands on the handlebars places others at risk, and contravenes Article 2 of the Human Rights Act.’
Laughing, the lawyer repeats: ‘Cycling no-handed violates Article 2 of the Human Rights Act? That’s the Right to Life, isn’t it?’
Attempting to clarify the comment, the police officer says: ‘No, I said it endangers people on the road,’ at which point he cuts in: ‘No, you said me cycling no-handed violates Article 2. I think we’re done at that. It’s rather silly, isn’t it?’
In the UK there is no specific law that makes cycling no-handed a crime – unlike in Cyprus, which made it illegal in 2016.
However, there is a grey area which allows police to fine riders deemed to be cycling dangerously and not in proper control of their bikes.
And while the Highway Code does not expressly forbid bikers from cycling no-handed, there are rules in place against riding dangerously.
Rule 66 of the code states ‘you should avoid any actions that could reduce your control of your cycle.’
While rule 68 adds ‘you MUST NOT ride in a dangerous, careless or inconsiderate manner’.
Mr Powlesland was stopped at rush hour in Queen Victoria Street next to the distinctive Coq D’Argent building (pictured, right)
The female City of London Police officer was filmed speaking to Mr Powlesland in a video on X
Posting the 63-second clip of the encounter on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Powlesland insisted he was not in the wrong.
‘I recently got stopped & ticketed by the City of London Police for, & I kid you not, “cycling no handed”,’ he wrote.
‘Even though it’s clearly not an offence, the officer said they were ticketing me under the Human Rights Act as I was infringing other people’s Article 2 ‘Right to Life’, in case I fell off & injured them: utterly bonkers stuff.’
He added: ‘With bicycle theft basically legalised in the City due to the complete failure of the Police to bother investigating such thefts & people being regularly terrorised in London by e-bike phone muggers, it’s good to see the City of London Police concentrating the resources on what really matters.’
The encounter, which has been seen by almost 800,000 people, comes as City of London Police continues with its summer street safety crackdown.
It has seen 284 cyclists fined for running red lights in the first six months of 2025 – more than ten times as many as the 25 motorists penalised for the same offence.
A City of London Police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We’re aware of a social media post that shows a small clip from a longer interaction between a cyclist and a City of London Police officer on the April 2 2025.
‘The cyclist approached the officer and during their three-minute chat, the Human Rights Act was mentioned. The cyclist was not ticketed on this day, but he had approached the officer because she had issued him a ticket on the 5 March 2025 in the City of London.
‘On the March 5 2025, the officer observed the cyclist riding with his arms stretched out wide and off the handlebars during rush hour.
‘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 the May 19 2025. Should the cyclist contest the ticket, officers will attend court and present any relevant evidence that we have obtained.’
