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| Kim Briggs widower: 'this is not about anti-cycling, it's about wrongdoing' | Kim Briggs widower: 'this is not about anti-cycling, it's about wrongdoing' |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| A week after Kim Briggs died of head injuries sustained when a cyclist riding an illegal bike collided with her, her husband, Matthew, received a call from a police officer warning him there would be a long journey ahead. | |
| Briggs was sitting on a bench outside John Lewis in Bluewater, the behemoth shopping centre in Kent, where he was picking out clothing for his children’s school uniforms. Shoppers darted purposefully all about him as he took the call. His grief – and that of his children – was painfully ripe. | Briggs was sitting on a bench outside John Lewis in Bluewater, the behemoth shopping centre in Kent, where he was picking out clothing for his children’s school uniforms. Shoppers darted purposefully all about him as he took the call. His grief – and that of his children – was painfully ripe. |
| The officer wanted to give Briggs a heads up. The trouble was the legislation. It could be some time before legal action – if any – could be taken against the cyclist. | The officer wanted to give Briggs a heads up. The trouble was the legislation. It could be some time before legal action – if any – could be taken against the cyclist. |
| “You’re suddenly thrown into a world where you’re having to be mum and dad,” Briggs says, still with an air of disbelief at his present circumstances. | “You’re suddenly thrown into a world where you’re having to be mum and dad,” Briggs says, still with an air of disbelief at his present circumstances. |
| “You’re thrown into a world where you’re trying to manage your own grief, trying to manage your children’s grief, but at the same time someone has grown out of their school trousers, someone needs a new hockey top … | “You’re thrown into a world where you’re trying to manage your own grief, trying to manage your children’s grief, but at the same time someone has grown out of their school trousers, someone needs a new hockey top … |
| “There I was sat outside John Lewis and the police officer called me and gave me an update and said this is going to be a long journey. There’s going to be many twists and turns. Because we don’t know where the law is at.” | “There I was sat outside John Lewis and the police officer called me and gave me an update and said this is going to be a long journey. There’s going to be many twists and turns. Because we don’t know where the law is at.” |
| Ultimately, it took 18 months after Kim’s death to secure a conviction against the cyclist involved, Charlie Alliston. He was found guilty under 156-year-old legislation originally designed to cover driving offences involving horse-drawn carriages. | Ultimately, it took 18 months after Kim’s death to secure a conviction against the cyclist involved, Charlie Alliston. He was found guilty under 156-year-old legislation originally designed to cover driving offences involving horse-drawn carriages. |
| It was this lengthy ordeal wading through a legal swamp that prompted Briggs to mount a campaign for a change in law to introduce an offence of death by dangerous cycling. | It was this lengthy ordeal wading through a legal swamp that prompted Briggs to mount a campaign for a change in law to introduce an offence of death by dangerous cycling. |
| “This is not about anti-cycling,” says Briggs, a cyclist himself. “This is about where there is criminal wrongdoing, which is an objective test. The police and CPS decide whether something potentially breaks the law. Where there is criminal wrongdoing, there is a gap in the law. | “This is not about anti-cycling,” says Briggs, a cyclist himself. “This is about where there is criminal wrongdoing, which is an objective test. The police and CPS decide whether something potentially breaks the law. Where there is criminal wrongdoing, there is a gap in the law. |
| “There’s a gap between an 1861 act, which is for horses and carriages, and manslaughter. It’s way too big a gap. All I’m saying [is] the law needs to catch up. For cycling, it’s not even a new law, it just needs to be included in the Road Traffic Act.” | “There’s a gap between an 1861 act, which is for horses and carriages, and manslaughter. It’s way too big a gap. All I’m saying [is] the law needs to catch up. For cycling, it’s not even a new law, it just needs to be included in the Road Traffic Act.” |
| Kim, then 44, was out on her lunch break on 12 February 2016 when Alliston, riding a fixed-gear bike with no front brake, collided with her as she stepped out into Old Street, in east London. | Kim, then 44, was out on her lunch break on 12 February 2016 when Alliston, riding a fixed-gear bike with no front brake, collided with her as she stepped out into Old Street, in east London. |
| She was taken to the Royal London hospital, where she went straight into theatre. The head injury she had sustained was catastrophic, and she died a week later. | She was taken to the Royal London hospital, where she went straight into theatre. The head injury she had sustained was catastrophic, and she died a week later. |
| Briggs recalls first seeing Kim in 1989 when the pair were students at the University of Greenwich. He was sitting on the top deck of the number 161 bus from Woolwich to Eltham. | Briggs recalls first seeing Kim in 1989 when the pair were students at the University of Greenwich. He was sitting on the top deck of the number 161 bus from Woolwich to Eltham. |
| “I just thought she was absolutely stunning,” he says. “And she had this lovely strong accent. It took me a year and a month to pluck up the courage to ask her to meet me for a drink at the students’ union. We were married in 1997 and we would have been married 20 years a few weeks ago, at the end of July.” | “I just thought she was absolutely stunning,” he says. “And she had this lovely strong accent. It took me a year and a month to pluck up the courage to ask her to meet me for a drink at the students’ union. We were married in 1997 and we would have been married 20 years a few weeks ago, at the end of July.” |
| The couple had a son and daughter, now 14 and 11 respectively. Briggs is a company director, running a company involved in exhibitions and retail. Kim pursued a career in HR and had been working as a consultant for the ancestry firm Find My Past at the time of her death. A couple of days before the collision she had agreed to take on a permanent role. | The couple had a son and daughter, now 14 and 11 respectively. Briggs is a company director, running a company involved in exhibitions and retail. Kim pursued a career in HR and had been working as a consultant for the ancestry firm Find My Past at the time of her death. A couple of days before the collision she had agreed to take on a permanent role. |
| Since Kim’s death, Briggs says, he has taken his cue from the way his wife conducted herself in life. “Kim sort of gets lost in this,” he says. “If you met her, you’d just have such a laugh with her. She was clever; she had this thick, strong Glaswegian accent that kept us all in check. She was fun, she was funny, she was kind-hearted and she was positive.” | Since Kim’s death, Briggs says, he has taken his cue from the way his wife conducted herself in life. “Kim sort of gets lost in this,” he says. “If you met her, you’d just have such a laugh with her. She was clever; she had this thick, strong Glaswegian accent that kept us all in check. She was fun, she was funny, she was kind-hearted and she was positive.” |
| It took seven months for the police to charge Alliston, and a further 10 months to bring him to trial. Now 20, he was convicted on 23 August of causing bodily harm by “wanton and furious driving” but cleared of the more serious offence of manslaughter, a charge that had never previously been brought against a cyclist. | It took seven months for the police to charge Alliston, and a further 10 months to bring him to trial. Now 20, he was convicted on 23 August of causing bodily harm by “wanton and furious driving” but cleared of the more serious offence of manslaughter, a charge that had never previously been brought against a cyclist. |
| He will be sentenced on 18 September and could face up to two years in prison. A civil claim is also being pursued, overseen by the law firm Field Fisher, which is acting on behalf of Briggs pro bono. | He will be sentenced on 18 September and could face up to two years in prison. A civil claim is also being pursued, overseen by the law firm Field Fisher, which is acting on behalf of Briggs pro bono. |
| Briggs refuses to be drawn on questions about Alliston, a fan of “alleycat” bike racing videos who was accused in court of being a thrill-seeking risk-taker. Briggs says: “We are where we are. I choose not to be angry. One can be angry at a situation but I choose not to let anger be a part of our lives.” | Briggs refuses to be drawn on questions about Alliston, a fan of “alleycat” bike racing videos who was accused in court of being a thrill-seeking risk-taker. Briggs says: “We are where we are. I choose not to be angry. One can be angry at a situation but I choose not to let anger be a part of our lives.” |
| As he sees it, if the law can be changed it may be prevent other families from going through the confusion and prolonged anguish he has had to endure. | As he sees it, if the law can be changed it may be prevent other families from going through the confusion and prolonged anguish he has had to endure. |
| Some cycling organisations have argued that since incidents such as this are so rare – of the 400 or so pedestrians killed on the roads each year in the UK, about one or two are struck by bicycles – a better way to improve safety would be a more general revamp of road laws. | Some cycling organisations have argued that since incidents such as this are so rare – of the 400 or so pedestrians killed on the roads each year in the UK, about one or two are struck by bicycles – a better way to improve safety would be a more general revamp of road laws. |
| But Briggs disagrees. “Just because something is rare doesn’t mean the law shouldn’t cater for it,” he says. “The law needs to serve as many eventualities as it possibly can.” | But Briggs disagrees. “Just because something is rare doesn’t mean the law shouldn’t cater for it,” he says. “The law needs to serve as many eventualities as it possibly can.” |
| The momentum is behind him. On Wednesday Briggs’s constituency MP, Heidi Alexander, raised the issue in the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions. Theresa May paid tribute to Kim, passing on condolences to her family, and said she was sure the secretary of state for transport, Chris Grayling, would consider the legal matter. | The momentum is behind him. On Wednesday Briggs’s constituency MP, Heidi Alexander, raised the issue in the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions. Theresa May paid tribute to Kim, passing on condolences to her family, and said she was sure the secretary of state for transport, Chris Grayling, would consider the legal matter. |
| Later in the day the Department for Transport confirmed Grayling was looking at the implications of Kim’s case, including whether dangerous driving should apply to cyclists who pose a danger to other road users. | Later in the day the Department for Transport confirmed Grayling was looking at the implications of Kim’s case, including whether dangerous driving should apply to cyclists who pose a danger to other road users. |
| “On a personal level, even if you put the legal things aside, I can say to the children that actually, do you know what, the prime minister of this country sent you her condolences,” Briggs says. “For children to hear that, it underlines the magnitude of what happened.” | “On a personal level, even if you put the legal things aside, I can say to the children that actually, do you know what, the prime minister of this country sent you her condolences,” Briggs says. “For children to hear that, it underlines the magnitude of what happened.” |