Cyclist told riding no-handed breached Human Rights Act reveals twist in case

A cyclist who was fined for riding his bike “no-handed” has had his case dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Barrister Paul Powlesland said that City of London Police had ticketed him under the Human Rights Act last July. He contested the fine, which he described as “utterly bonkers”, as he felt it was not illegal to ride whilst not touching the handlebars. Footage taken by Powlesland which quickly went viral shows him confronting an officer about his ticket. Sharing an update to the case on X on Thursday (12 February), Powlesland, who was due to appear in London South-Central Magistrates' Court on Friday, revealed that the case had been dropped to due insufficient evidence. He said that whilst he was glad he did not have to go to court, he was annoyed at the force for “wasting my time and taxpayers’ money pursuing something so trivial and which is clearly not illegal”. The Independent has contacted City of London Police for comment.