MPs, have recently condemned the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency and apologies to motorcyclists after they misrepresented and stereotyped bike riders as road tax dodgers.

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) welcomes the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts' special report on motorcycle Vehicle Excise Duty evasion. Claims made by the DfT and DVLA stating, that the rate of motorcycle (Vehicle Excise Duty) VED evasion, was as high as 38 per cent, prompted politicians and the media to brand motorcyclists as law breakers; some reports proclaimed that half of all motorcyclists were criminals.

MAG, working with other motorcycle interest groups, challenged the figures as obviously incorrect. This was subsequently proved to be the case, earlier this year when the DfT admitted that the actual level of VED evasion was less than 10 per cent.

Information that was released by the DfT; which unveiled the true levels of VED, indicates that motorcycle VED evasion is estimated at 6.5 per cent compared to 2.5 per cent VED evasion for all other vehicle types. However this is still very different to the 40 per cent figure for motorcycle VED evasion previously bandied about.

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Edward Leigh MP, said: "It was one of the most serious issues the committee has had to deal with. Mr Leigh issued an unreserved apology to motorcyclists after hearing HM treasury admit incompetence and the DfT express regret at the embarrassment caused during the committees' recent special enquiry."

MAG Campaigns Manager, David Short, said: "MAG applauds the vigilance of members of the Public Accounts Committee in helping to correct this misrepresentation of Britain's million-plus motorcycle users. It is now clear that the vast majority of motorcyclists are ordinary law abiding citizens who should not have had to put up with being branded criminals."

On an earlier occasion, David Short, had said: "MAG does not condone in any way those who ride their bikes without tax. The overwhelming majority of bikers are law abiding and pay their dues as responsible citizens. It is therefore very galling when figures put out by government, as the public accounts committee did, that motorcycle VED evasion was up to 40 per cent despite dubious methodologies used to arrive at this fantasy figure. Clearly it is still too high but it is not the all out snub to society as it was previously suggested."

MAG challenged the basis of official estimates which resulted in the second, special enquiry. Official figures often give a distorted view of motorcycle users and this results in riders getting a poor deal. MAG will keep fighting to make sure motorcycle users are no longer misrepresented.

Craig Carey-clinch, who was representing the MCIA had said: "We are delighted that Edward Leigh and the PAC have now set the record straight and we thank them for their continued scrutiny of the issue and the work they have done."

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), is a voluntary organisation, which has membership from across the whole spectrum of motorcycling. The organisation was launched in 1973, in response against a legislation. They fought to make it compulsory to wear a crash helmet.

Since then MAG has evolved from a single issue group, to a highly respected political lobbying and campaigns group, which is central to all aspects of policy and legislation affecting motorcycling. The organisation, operates within and outside of the UK, at the European, National, Regional and Local levels.