The Great Nesta Cycle Security Prize.

I had a very pleasant job this evening. Presenting a £35,000 award to the winner of a prize to stimulate innovation in cycling security products.

The winner has devised an innovative kind of bike lock that will be much harder to crack than any currently on the market.

Innovation prizes date back to the famous Longitude Prize of the 1700s. This prize competition was run by Nesta, one of Britain's innovation agency. My government department is putting £850,000 over a few years into a range of prizes, of which this is the first.

We are hoping that with the help of our cash boost the new product will be in the shops by Christmas. I've already promised to buy one.

The award ceremony was at Bike Works in Bethnal Green: a brilliant social enterprise that provides bike maintenance facilities for local people and trains young people with bike maintenance and repair skills.

A cheering evening.