British Transport Police said Sir Keir Starmer spoke to an-off duty PCSO – not a police officer – as a witness after a crash involving a cyclist, following the Labour leader’s spokesman saying he gave them his details at the scene.
Sir Keir, 58, was involved in a collision with the bike rider just after midday in Kentish Town, north west London, on Sunday.
He exchanged insurance information with the biker – described by an onlooker as ‘in a lot of pain’ on the ground – before leaving him in the care of paramedics who were called at 12.08pm, and who then took him to hospital with an injured arm.
The Metropolitan Police Service said London Ambulance Service medics informed them about the crash and two of their cars arrived at 12.20pm.
By this time Sir Keir had already left the scene, which is near Kentish Town Overground station, his spokesman saying later he had left his details with a British Transport Police officer and the cyclist.
But BTP told MailOnline today they had no record of officially speaking with the Labour leader with no details registered on their recording systems.
Later they said they had found out it was actually an off-duty member of staff, a PCSO, that provided their details to him as a witness to the collision.
Sir Keir, 58, had left the scene in Kentish Town, north west London by the time two police cars arrived at around 12.20pm on Sunday, reports say
PCSOs are not the same as police officers and do not have powers of arrest, cannot interview or process prisoners, cannot investigate crime and do not carry out the more complex and high-risk tasks they perform.
In a statement The Met did not explain how they learned the politician’s identity, but said they left a message at a driver’s home for him to report the incident.
They have not named Sir Keir because he has not been charged with an offence.
It is thought that he was driving a Toyota Rav 4 SUV when the collision happened with the cyclist near one the politician’s local pubs, The Grafton.
Pictured: The Grafton pub in Kentish Town where the incident occurred at the weekend
A spokesperson for Sir Keir said that the Labour leader was involved in a minor road traffic accident and spoke to a police officer who attended the scene and swapped details with the officer and others involved (pictured: Kentish Town Police Station)
Local resident Nicolas Janes, 39, told The Sun: ‘I was walking and there was a bang. A loud bang. I didn’t witness it directly but could hear the impact.
‘I saw what happened after. The cyclist was on the pavement, he was holding his arm. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.
‘There were people helping the cyclist. He just remained on the floor in pain. They looked concerned for him.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman told MailOnline they were alerted by medics.
He added: ‘Police were alerted by LAS at around 12.20hrs on Sunday 25 October to a report of a road traffic collision between a cyclist and car in Grafton Road, NW5.
‘The driver of the car had stopped at the scene and exchanged details with the cyclist but had left before officers arrived.
‘The male cyclist received a minor injury to his arm and was taken to hospital by LAS as a precaution.
‘Officers later attempted to contact the driver of the car and left a message advising him to report the matter to police.
‘The driver of the car subsequently attended a north London police station.
‘He was not arrested or interviewed under caution. An investigation into the collision is ongoing by officers from the Roads and Transport Policing Command.’
A spokesperson for Sir Keir said he had spoken to the BTP before leaving.
They added: ‘Keir was involved in a minor road traffic accident on Sunday.
‘He spoke to a British Transport Police officer who attended the scene and swapped details with the officer and the other individual involved.
‘Keir stayed at the scene until the ambulance arrived. Later that afternoon, he reported the incident to a police station in accordance with the law. Since the incident, Keir has also been in touch with the other individual involved.’