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A hush fell over a busy street as 300 cyclists lay prone among their bikes in a “die in” protest against London’s biggest minicab firm.

The two-minute silent demo brought traffic to a standstill last night outside Addison Lee’s head offices in William Street off Euston Road.

London cyclists accuse its boss John Griffin of putting their lives in danger by urging his 3,500 drivers to use bus lanes from which they are banned.

Mr Griffin was greeted with loud boos and cries of “shame” as he stood on his office doorstep to read out an article he wrote that infuriated cyclists even more.

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In it he said they were “throwing themselves” onto London roads and need to “get trained” and should pay for the privilege of using the roads as motorists do.

The row deepened after it emerged that Mr Griffin’s firm donated £250,000 to the Conservative party and he had discussed the bus lanes issue with the then transport secretary Philip Hammond. Protester Richard Beenham, 40, from Roehampton said: “Addison Lee drivers have a terrible reputation.”

Software engineer Jolyon Wharton, 39, from Camberwell, said: “I’ve been run over three times by Addison Lee cars — always in exactly the same way. They pull up alongside you and turn left. I’ve had a broken shoulder, my nose broken four times. I’ve dislocated my thumbs and had my knee smashed. Bus lanes are our sanctuary.”

Transport for London is seeking an injunction against Addison Lee demanding it withdraws an offer to indemnify its drivers against fines for using bus lanes.

A spokesman for Addison Lee said the article was intended to cause a reaction but said the company now wanted to improve relations with cyclists, adding: “John stands by the message of his statement, that all road users should have a basic level of training.”

Going Dutch

One of London’s Olympic boroughs is to adopt Amsterdam-style cycling measures.

Waltham Forest is backing a “Go Dutch” campaign and will introduce a borough-wide 20mph zone and allow cyclists to ride the “wrong” way down one-way streets. It comes as the biggest-ever rally of cyclists will reclaim central London streets on Saturday to demand that road safety is made a priority for whichever candidate is returned to City Hall on May 4. Waltham Forest is to spend up to £100,000 a year over the next three years imposing a 20mph limit in all residential streets and redesigning junctions to make all roads two-way for cyclists.

Clyde Loakes, cabinet member for the environment, said: “We have not done enough to promote cycling over the last few years.” Ross Lydall