Sadiq Khan's £150m pedestrian-only Oxford Street is swamped by hundreds of cyclists defying the ban one week after its launch

Around 600 cyclists taking part in London's monthly Critical Mass ride swept through the banned stretch of Oxford Street at 10.30pm on Friday, performing wheelies and blasting music as they passed barriers unchallenged by security staff. Transport for London enforcement officers said stopping speeding riders to issue £160 fines was an impossible task, while shoppers and workers denounced the zone as a "lawless rat run".

TfL's own traffic cameras recorded the Friday night mass incursion, with penny-farthing riders, cargo bikes and wheelchair users all joining the procession.

Critics are calling the £150m scheme a "missed opportunity," contending that cyclists deserve direct, safe routes through central London rather than a blanket ban.

Sadiq Khan declared the October 26 launch a "momentous day for London," yet enforcement officers acknowledge that stopping cyclists has proved near-impossible in practice.