Ambulance on blue lights is filmed stopping at Sadiq Khan's Oxford Street barriers as a councillor warns a minute was 'wasted'

Critical Mass riders on Oxford Street, London, where TfL's own traffic cameras recorded penny-farthing riders, cargo bikes and wheelchair users joining Friday night's mass incursion.

A London Ambulance Service vehicle on Oxford Street, where the £150m pedestrianisation scheme introduced on 26 October bans all traffic except emergency vehicles.

Transport for London maintains that the ambulance crew were simply asking for directions, but video footage shared by Westminster City councillor Tim Barnes appears to show the blue-lights vehicle halting at the red barriers before turning onto Regent Street rather than entering the pedestrianised zone. Barnes cautioned that the hold-up could have proved fatal, saying he hoped the situation was "not life-critical." The scheme bans all vehicles except emergency services from a half-mile stretch of Oxford Street and launched just over a week ago at a projected cost of £150 million.

Cyclists have ignored the ban from the outset, with video showing Lime e-bike riders weaving through crowds while TfL enforcement officers stood by and watched.

Writing in a national newspaper, Sadiq Khan remained defiant, describing the closure as a 'massive moment' and drawing comparisons between Oxford Street and Barcelona's La Rambla and the Champs-Élysées — both of which, unlike his scheme, remain open to vehicles.

Evening StandardMoment ambulance is held up at new Oxford Street barriers The SunCar-free Oxford Street plunged into chaos as yobs terrorise shoppers Irish TimesDodging bikes, cars and culture wars on London’s newly ‘pedestrianised’ Oxford Street Daily MailBeware of the cyclists: Oxford Street's £150million 'pedestrian-only' zone lauded by Sadiq Khan as a 'greener, safer, world-class destination' is now swamped with reckless riders one week on - as shoppers call for fines

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