Leisure cyclists or law breakers?

LAW IN ACTION BBC Radio 4's Law In Action Tuesday 14 October 1600 BST On Radio 4 and online Latest programme

When does a mass cycle ride turn into a political demonstration - and do the cyclists need police permission?

That's the legal question which is being weighed by the Law Lords later this month as they consider the tricky issue of London's Critical Mass cycle rides.

Once a month hundreds of cyclists gather at the South Bank and set off together on a random route.

It's one of many similar events held across the world, in which cyclists believe they are reclaiming the streets for their form of transport.

The police say it's disruptive, particularly for other forms of public transport like buses and taxis, and that it is a demonstration.

BBC Radio 4 Law in Action: Protesters or law-breakers?

Under Section 11 of the 1986 Public Order Act that means the organisers have to give the police advance notice of the details of the event.

The Critical Mass cyclists argue that there are no organisers and no fixed route, so they can't give advance notice.

As we discover, the Law Lords judgment is likely to revolve around a single word.

If an activity is "customary" it is exempt from the legislation - but is a ride with no fixed route customary or not?

Northern Ireland's prisons

There's a deadlock in negotiations to devolve justice and policing to Northern Ireland.

Whoever does take over a devolved Ministry of Justice will be responsible for a major political headache: reforming the prison system.

Robin Masefield, Director the Northern Ireland Prison Service

It costs an average of £81,000 a year to a keep a prisoner in a Northern Irish jail. Although the figures aren't directly comparable, the cost in England and Wales is a little over £27,000.

As our reporter Linda Pressly discovers, one reason for the expense is that a high proportion of fine defaulters are jailed in expensive maximum security prisons.

There are also extra costs associated with guarding the 80 or so remaining paramilitary prisoners.

The overwhelming majority of officers are from Protestant backgrounds, and there has been no main grade recruitment since the 1980s.

As a result, while there are around three prisoners for every prison officer in England and Wales, in Northern Ireland, the staff outnumber the prisoners.

The gory story of Tyburn Tree

In our continuing series of visits to sites of legal significance, we take a trip to Tyburn, near Marble Arch in Central London.

One of the many public executions held in London.

For centuries this was the capital's main site of execution - where an estimated 60,000 people were put to death at the stake.

Guide Viki Wood regales us with stories of hanging, drawing, quartering and burning

And we learn how the violent history of Tyburn lives on in our everyday speech - when we say we are "off the wagon" or accuse someone of being a "hanger-on."

Your thoughts

It is outrageous that the police are trying to criminalise Critical Mass. Their attempt to do so exposes the often-espoused police lie that their primary concern is public safety. Critical Mass rides offer an oasis of safety where for one brief moment we are not exposed to the constant terror of road death. Motor vehicles are the overwhelming danger facing us in our daily outdoor lives; greater than terrorism, greater than knife or gun crime, greater than mugging or paedophiles - put together.

Norman Armstrong

"Drawn" in "hung, drawn and quartered" does not refer to the felon being drawn to the place of execution. In that case it would be "drawn, hung and quartered." Nor does it REFER to the bowels being drawn from the body. The word to "draw" in this context MEANS to disembowel. This use has fallen from general use but if you look in old pre-oven-ready-chicken era cookbooks you will find that recipes for poultry and gamebirds usualy begin "take the bird and draw it clean".

Jonathan Swale

Coming Up

Next week we look at the law governing unconventional family structures - and discover there can be some nasty legal surprises to informal arrangements for sperm donation.

Contact the programme

If you have thoughts on any of the topics we've covered, or any other legal issues, you can contact us by email at [e-mail], or by post at Law In Action, BBC White City, Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, or you can call us on 020 8752 5646.

Law In Action is broadcast on Tuesday 14 October 2008 at 1600 BST on BBC Radio 4.