THE news cycle is often punctuated with articles pitting drivers against cyclists – but Jon Snow has questioned this narrative of “hostility”.

The legendary TV journalist spoke to the New Journal in the week we publish our Cycling Special issue.

Mr Snow, who lives in Primrose Hill and has been cycling around London for decades, said: “I experience very little hostility from drivers, and that’s not because ‘I’ve seen him on the telly, I better behave myself’ – I don’t think they ever spot who it is, because you’ve got your helmet on, you’ve got very untidy clothes on – in my case anyway. I’ve never really experienced serious hostility from four- wheeled traffic.”

He added: “Obviously, when there are cycle accidents, terrible things happen. But generally speaking, fingers crossed, it’s pretty safe. Camden, for example, is particularly rich in bike lanes, and it behoves boroughs all over the country to emulate Camden.”

Mr Snow, who has served as the president of Cycling UK, said: “The whole of the time that I was at ITN, which was 30 years or so, I cycled into work, at work, it often got me scoops: I often got there before anybody else. It was a godsend, and I could never understand why more people didn’t do it.”

Asked whether things have got better for cyclists since he first started cycling, Mr Snow said: “One hundred per cent. There was quite a lot of hostility in the early days.”

And he said Camden is a good borough for cyclists.

He said: “You could describe Camden as bike- friendly. You don’t feel that the authorities in some way are hostile to cycling – in fact, quite the reverse.”

“We’re very lucky to be in Camden. I don’t think we should imagine the world is like Camden – I think quite a few other [boroughs] are pretty thin… I’d say it’s a borough leader in cycling.”

When cycling through Camden, “the temptation to take in a park is pretty strong, so I sometimes cycled slightly further than I needed to in order to do some of it in Regent’s Park,” Mr Snow said.

And he encouraged people who don’t normally cycle to try it out: “They’ve got to do it sensibly. They should start in one of the parks and graduate it. They shouldn’t dive straight into a main road. Get used to it, and then do it.

“We’re very lucky to be in Camden, for anybody who wants to take it up,” he said, adding cyclists can “just sail past” long queues of traffic. “I think it’s pretty frustrating for the driver.”

He said: “I’m not sure the message has got through to the wider public that cycling is safer than it was, and cycling is quicker than it was. And I have to say that I think cycle manufacture has improved too, [with] accessible, good bikes. And the locks are more effective.”

“The central issue with a bicycle is it’s independent. The fact is, you’re dependent on nobody – except your own stupidity. But the truth is, as long as you cycle sensibly, cycling is safe. It’s efficient, and it’s generally much faster than any four-wheel vehicle in the sense of getting from A to B, rather than the speed you can achieve.”

“It’s the ultimate independence, you don’t even need petrol. All you need is a good pump in case your tyres go down,” he said.