Call for cyclist safety summit

After a week which saw a spate of fatal cycling accidents in London, Boris Johnson is being urged to get to grips with road safety by holding a special 'Safety Summit'.

The Mayor has been handed a letter from a parliamentary group demanding immediate, urgent action. The family of cyclist Venera Minakhmetova, who was killed at the Bow Roundabout, added to those calls, saying her death must lead to change.

Luke Hanrahan reports:

Britain's most senior police officer has warned that large vehicles can be "killing machines" and cyclists can find themselves in the path of a lorry or bus with "one wobble" in the wake of a spate of bike deaths.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said drivers and cyclists need to think about how they use the road.

Speaking on LBC 97.3, he said: "We've all got to think about the way that we drive and the way that we cycle. It is difficult for the drivers.

"They're big vehicles, they can't always see out properly but they've got to take a little bit more care. When you've got such a big vehicle, then obviously they can be killing machines".

The sister of a cyclist who was killed at Bow roundabout on Wednesday said the situation on London roads is "not working", according to the Evening Standard.

Venera Minakhmetova, 24, was killed after colliding with a lorry at Bow Roundabout during Wednesday morning's rush hour.

Writing from Russia, the victim's sister, Dina Minakhmetova, said:

The executive director of parliamentary group Pacts has told ITV London that he hoped to see "short-term" solutions to tackling safety issues for cyclists on the road.

David Davies said that it is "important to look at the evidence, learn from it and take action".

The family of a cyclist killed in London have said her death should be treated as a "sign" to improve conditions on the roads for other cyclists.

Venera Minakhmetova, 24, was killed after colliding with a lorry at Bow Roundabout during Wednesday morning's rush hour.

Footage has emerged of Verena speaking in September:

A Parliamentary safety group is urging London Mayor Boris Johnson to hold a safety summit following the spate of cyclists' deaths in the capital.

There was "a need for urgent action", said the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts) which has written to Mr Johnson.

Pacts executive director David Davies said: "The boom in cycling in London has many benefits and we support it but the tragic events of the past few days show that there is a need for urgent action.

"We are therefore calling on the mayor to convene a cycling safety summit to see what can be done immediately to make cyclists safer.

"It is essential that actions are based on good evidence and well targeted. We must avoid knee-jerk reactions and measures that might be counterproductive."

The mayor's cycling commissioner Andrew Gilligan has said that there are plans to upgrade the cycle superhighways, after five cyclists were killed in London.

Police are appealing for witnesses after an incident involving a 205-route bus, in which a cyclist, believed to be in his 30s, was killed.

He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, police added.

The victim, who has not yet been identified, was taken to an east London hospital. Police added there had been no arrests and inquiries continued.

The mayor is under pressure to take action to make cycling in London safer after another cyclist was killed on the streets. A man was hit by a bus late last night crossing the Cycle Super Highway in Aldgate East. That means in the past nine days five people have been killed.

Today the mayor defended his bike policy for London and said cyclists need to stop breaking the law in order to stay safe. Our Political Correspondent Simon Harris reports.