Published: 03 November 2011
by TOM FOOT

CAMDEN’S cycling champion has urged detectives to consider “corporate manslaughter” charges against Transport for London (TfL) after meeting police investigating the death of a cyclist in King’s Cross.

Lib Dem councillor Paul Braithwaite said he was shown footage of the moment fashion student Deep Lee, 24, was hit by a lorry at the junction of Gray’s Inn Road and York Way on October 3.

The spot  is now marked by a white “ghost bike” chained to the railings. Ms Lee, whose full name was Min Joo Lee, died at the scene.

The New Journal revealed how TfL had failed to implement its own safety recommendations made in 2008.

Cllr Braithwaite said he had told officers that TfL had been “consistently negligent over safety”.

A growing number of cyclists have called for police to get tough over the case. He will press ahead with the safety campaign at Monday’s full Camden Council meeting by leading a motion calling for the King’s Cross gyratory junction to be “abolished”.

It will force councillors to either sign up or reject the idea of taking TfL to task over cycling safety.

The motion notes that Ms Lee’s death is not an isolated case and refers to the death of Paula Jurek, who died on Camden Road earlier this year. An inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court will investigate the circumstances of that case next week.

Cllr Braithwate’s motion also asks the council to note that “in the case of the recent King’s Cross death, also with the death on Camden Road and the one on Euston Road by Ossulston Street five years ago, TfL had already accepted the need for improvements but done nothing to implement the new remedial measures for cyclists’ safety.

It is this inaction that has led to the suggestion of a charge of corporate manslaughter against TfL”.

The motions lists other danger blackspots in Camden, adding that a new crossing should be set up at the junction of Euston Road and Argyle Street to help cyclists.

The Labour majority party at the council have reacted by calling their own special meeting at the Town Hall.

Councillor Jonathan Simpson, chairman of the culture and environment scrutiny committee, said: “The recent tragic deaths have brought home the need for an extended discussion on road safety issues in the borough, particularly for cyclists.

There is an urgent need for Transport for London to address the tragic events that led to fatalities.”

Green Party councillor Maya De Souza is also scheduled to use Monday’s meeting – during the ask cabinet councillors any question  section – to raise the issue.

On Friday, hundreds of cyclists brought roads to a standstill in King’s Cross at the spot where Deep Lee was killed.

The flashmob-style protest is being followed up by a second protest and speeches at the King’s Cross junction on November 12.

A memorial event at Central St Martin’s will be held tonight (Thursday) in memory of ­fashion student Ms Lee.