Ken the Ripper

Jack the Ripper got away with murder. Now we have Ken the Ripper. He gets away with daylight (and twilight) robbery. That is, if you are a motorist. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of time for Ken Livingstone. He has done a great job in London - providing you don't drive.

I was hopelessly lost in W1 the other day. I don't usually drive to town, but on this occasion decided to. Anyway, back to being lost - well I wasn't really lost, just wasn't exactly certain where I was. Well, I knew where I was - in Portland Street, en route to Bloomsbury Square. I just wasn't too sure how to get there. I took a left turn at the end of the road, and noticed that all the traffic (apart from me) was buses and taxis.

Oh blimey! I had veered into Oxford Street - a restricted thoroughfare. None of us in the car had noticed a sign prohibiting us, but obviously there was one. We weren't stopped, flashed at or hooted off the street, but I guess somewhere there was a camera, taking my registration number. As I write this, the wheels of the DVLC and TfL are doubtless in harmony, printing out my summons.

If only Ken was Mayor of London in 1888. Whitechapel would have been a safer place - providing you weren't in your own trap.