British opposition leader's bicycle stolen

Britain News.Net
Friday 25th July, 2008 (IANS)

The 1,000 pound ($2,000) bicycle of David Cameron, leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party, was stolen from outside a London supermarket.

Cameron told the police he chained the bike to a two-feet high bollard and went inside Tesco to buy groceries. Possibly, the thieves easily lifted it, chain and all, as the bollard was not too high.

Chris Peck, policy coordinator of the Cyclists' Touring Club, told The Independent: 'It's very bad luck for him even though he does not seem to have followed the correct procedure. We would definitely encourage him to continue cycling and hope he buys himself a nice new bike and takes a bit more care of it.'

Cameron had bought the bike five years ago, putting it to good use and often leaving controversies in its wake.

The Tory leader cycles five miles to work at the House of Commons every Wednesday. He faced ridicule when it emerged he was followed by a driver carrying his clothes, shoes and official documents in his official Lexus.

He also faced criticism this year when he was photographed ignoring red lights and cycling the wrong way up a one-way street. He has been repeatedly seen riding around with his helmet slung over the handle bars.

Tesco said it would donate the estimated value of Cameron's bike to the cycling charity Sustrans. 'We are very sorry that David's bike was stolen from outside our store,' a spokesman said.

Almost 20,000 bike thefts are recorded each year in London and more than 100,000 in the whole of Britain. Countless more go unreported.

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