Dear James Harding,
May I urge you to consider removing this article (27th December) from your website and publishing a retraction under your own name? I accept that not much can be done about the copy which has already been printed, but there are measures you could take to limit the damage, which would be most welcome.
Alas, even if some of the article may have been published in jest (though it is hard to see the jokey aspect of it), it is the sort of text that may incite idiotic readers to perform idiotic actions. And although incidents of wiring across roads and paths are happily uncommon, they do occur, and I know cyclists who have had first-hand experience of such behaviour and have been lucky to escape serious injury. I myself - as a regular cyclist - have twice in my life suffered being deliberately assaulted by a car passenger: not quite the same as a 'wiring' assault, granted, but equally disconcerting and not something into which we want to incite people.
Furthermore, I would wish to state that all the members of my family, committed cyclists that we are, endeavour to ride in accordance with the Highway Code and with proper consideration for other road users. None of us would ever wilfully leave litter: indeed the sight of litter left by others, when we come across it, is particularly galling to us with our love and respect for the British countryside. And even though I cannot obviously speak for all cycle users, I know that many other cyclists whom I know are of a similar mind to myself.
I trust that you will give this matter your urgent attention and take into consideration the high standing of your newspaper in the public eye.
Yours sincerely,
