David Cameron came under attack from safety campaigners today after he was pictured cycling without wearing a helmet.
Headway, the brain injury association, said it was "deeply disappointed" to learn of photographs taken of the Conservative leader leaving his home and arriving at the House of Commons on his bicycle with his safety helmet dangling from his handlebars.
Luke Griggs, Headway spokesman, said: "Brain injury can happen at any moment - all it takes is just one fall and you will regret it for the rest of your life. We are deeply disappointed.
"Mr Cameron should be proud to be seen to be wearing his helmet. He should be setting a good example to cyclists, particularly young cyclists in the UK."
A Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) spokeswoman said: "We encourage cyclists to wear helmets, obviously it is not the law, at the end of the day it is a personal choice. But we do encourage people to wear helmets.
"Helmets will not stop an accident from happening, but it will hopefully reduce the severity of injuries suffered."
But a London Cycling Campaign spokesman said: "We take the view that people should make their own informed decisions about the wearing of helmets.
"The evidence of the protective ability of helmets in the event of a collision with a vehicle remains unclear."
The Conservative leader, in dark clothes, trainers, and wearing a fluorescent sash, pedalled the distance from his home in west London to the House of Commons.
He was accompanied by two men on bicycles, believed to be special branch officers, and a man thought to be a "cycling buddy".
It is not the first time he has been criticised over cycling without a bicycle helmet.
In 2006, MPs and safety campaigners claimed his habit of removing his helmet for the cameras was setting a bad example to children.
