E-bike cyclist weeps as he’s cleared of killing pedestrian
An e-bike cyclist was yesterday cleared of killing a pedestrian by careless driving in what is believed to be
the first prosecution of its kind. Bricklayer Thomas Hanlon, 32, was on his way home from work and going
more than 10mph over the 20mph speed limit in Dalston, London, before he knocked down Sakine Cihan
in August 2018, the Old Bailey heard. Ms Cihan had tried to cross the road despite the lights being green,
jurors were told.
Ms Cihan died in hospital the next day as a result of a “catastrophic” head injury. It is believed to be the first
death of a pedestrian after a collision with an e-bike in the UK. Mr Hanlon, of Queen’s Drive, London,
denied causing death by careless driving and driving while uninsured and unlicensed. The jury found him
not guilty of all charges, including an alternative charge of careless driving. Mr Hanlon held his head in his
hands and sobbed as the verdicts were announced.
Prosecutor Nathan Rasiah said that Mr Hanlon’s bike used a battery rather than an engine and was classed
as a motorcycle rather than an electrically assisted pedal cycle because it could travel at more than the legal
15.5mph limit. Mr Hanlon, who declined to give evidence, accepted he did not have a licence or insurance
but disputed there had been a fault in the driving that contributed in a more than a minimal way to the
death. PA
20 charged with violent disorder at Tommy Robinson rally
Twenty people have been charged with violent disorder at a rally held by Tommy Robinson during his
campaign to be elected to the European Parliament. Violence broke out after a large group of men calling
themselves the Muslim Defence League (MDL) converged on the event in Oldham in May.
Police initially escorted the MDL demonstration, but disorder started after they arrived at the pro-Robinson
rally at a park in Limeside. Officers were pelted with bricks and eggs as they attempted to keep the two
groups separate, with vehicles damaged. The 20 suspects, aged between 16 and 39, have all been charged
with violent disorder and will appear at Thameside magistrates court in two hearings, one tomorrow and
one on 19 March.
Greater Manchester Police launched an operation codenamed Woodville into the “serious public disorder”.
Those appearing in court tomorrow are Haroon Hussain, 39, of Halifax; Hadir Ali, 25, of Oldham;
Mubasher Khan, 25, of Oldham; Atiq Urrehman, 25, of Crumpsall; Faraz Ahmed, 32, of Oldham; Majid
Khan, 30, of Oldham; Salman Ahmed, 21, of Oldham; Mohammed Zeeshauan Khan, 21, of Oldham; Kamran
Ali, 27, of Oldham; Abdul Nazir, 27, of Oldham; Rahim Ahmed, 25, of Oldham; and Amann Ul Haq, 19, of
Oldham.
Appearing on 19 March are Mikail Ahmed, 21, of Oldham; Matthew Henry, 25, of Oldham; Dillan Simpson,
19, of Oldham; Jayden Mack, 18, of Oldham; Duane Coleman, 33, of Rochdale; Luke Tucker, 19, of Oldham;
and two 16-year-old boys who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Kea to success: parrots are cleverer than we thought
Parrots have the ability to make decisions based on probabilities, just like humans, researchers have found.
They discovered the kea, a species of large parrot found in New Zealand, can infer and predict events based
on knowledge or experience. They even performed better than chimps in some experiments.
The researchers conducted experiments to test the kea. They trained six parrots to associate the colour
black with a treat and the colour orange with no reward. Coloured tokens were put in two transparent jars.