London top traffic cop does 80mph in 40mph zone

Road safety campaigners have reacted furiously after it emerged that London's most senior traffic policeman had escaped with a written warning for being driven in a police car which was caught speeding.

Chief Superintendent Les Owen, head of the Metropolitan Police traffic division, was reportedly late for a meeting when the marked force vehicle he was travelling in drove at up to twice the speed limit.

The Vauxhall Omega, occasionally using its sirens, was said to have sped along roads in north east London at one point hitting 86mph in a 50mph zone.

It was also reported to have been driving along parts of London's North Circular and surrounding roads at 82mph in a 40mph limit.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said Mr Owen had accepted a written warning from its Directorate of Professional Standards for "failing to challenge the manner in which a Pc drove a police car in which he was a passenger".

However, a spokeswoman for the national road safety charity Brake condemned the reprimand as "appalling" and "insane".

"As somebody who knows first hand the devastating consequences of high speed car crashes, it is just appalling," she said.

"Speeding is endemic on our roads and the most dangerous places are in residential areas, where you have children and other people who at 86mph would not survive if hit.

"He should do the right thing now and resign. If he truly believes in road safety and the things he has said about the dangers of speeding and how horrific car crashes are, then he should resign."

Kevin Delaney, head of traffic and road safety at the RAC Foundation, added: "He was in a position to slow that car down. All he had to do was to say to the driver 'slow down'. He may not have been holding the steering wheel, but he was the one who held all the power. He and the driver and everyone else on that road was exposed to a greater risk than they need have been."

Ed: Do you think Tony Blair will advise the Home Secretary to transfer Chief Superintendent Les Owen to none traffic duties as he has lost any credibilty in relation to road safety issues or will it be another example of one law for the Party and State bureaocrats and another for the people?