Lola McEvoy

Lola McEvoy

Labour — Darlington

Speaking in the House of Commons on 4 November 2026

Debate

Illegal Off-road Bikes: North-east

Contribution

Unfortunately, I do not know enough about that bit of the legislation, but I am sure the Minister does and will address that point. The use of balaclavas to evade detection is intimidating. The fact that the bikes are not licensed, plated or chipped means that the riders have a getaway vehicle. If the police were to catch and prosecute them, they could confiscate and crush the bikes, but that is not enough of a deterrent and the balance is weighted in favour of those using them. I would like the Minister to consider our points. We are seeing an increase in blatant disregard for the law. There are reports of these criminals wearing balaclavas, drug dealing in plain sight in the street, and carrying machetes and other very dangerous weapons. It seems that they are willing to take the risk because they do not think they will get caught. As I said, the police are making incredible headway with Operation ORB, which is about seizing and crushing these bikes, but things seem to be weighted in favour of the criminals.

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