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Cyclists injured or killed on London’s roads are too often being “failed” by the justice system, a Westminster inquiry heard today.

Compensation claims, driver sentences and the current system of proving who is at fault after a crash are among the issues MPs have vowed to investigate following major concerns cyclists are being discriminated against.

Ruth Cadbury MP, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cycling which is leading the inquiry, said: “We know there are examples where cyclists have not received the justice that they deserved.

“London has seen a huge investment in cycling over the last 15 years and the numbers of a cyclists are at an all time high and thankfully fatalities are falling, but when cyclists are involved in crashes and have life changing injuries, too often the justice system fails to punish the driver adequately.

The London MP added: “Our inquiry will investigate whether more needs to be done to tighten up the investigation and prosecution of drivers who have injured or killed cyclists.”

At the first of five hearings, MPs heard from representatives from Cycling UK, RoadPeace and personal injury lawyer Martin Porter QC as well as Julie Dinsdale, who lost her leg in a crash at Old Street in 2015.

Julie and her husband Keith Bontrager, the mountain bike design pioneer whose Bontrager brand fits Trek bikes, are fighting for compensation after the lorry driver admitted driving without due care and attention. He was fined £625 and given five points on his licence.

The investigation will also review the unusual British model of not operating a strict liability regime for road users.

In most European countries the driver of the larger vehicle on the road is presumed liable for injury, damages or loss, unless they can demonstrate otherwise.

The inquiry’s recommendations will go to the Department for Transport and feed into their consultation into road safety.