Twickenham MP Vince Cable found himself on the wrong side of cyclists after his ministerial car was snapped blocking one of London’s new cycle superhighways.

The Business Secretary’s silver Honda was photographed by a blogger after pulling up outside London South Bank University, where the politician had been speaking on the need to make higher education fairer.

The driver stopped the car in Keyworth Street, at about 11.15am, last Thursday, before being told to move on by a parking warden.

The new £22m cycle highways, launched this week by Mayor Boris Johnson, are intended to make it safer for cyclists to navigate their way across London, with parking restricted at all times. A double yellow line was also painted along the road.

A spokeswoman for Dr Cable said: “The driver briefly pulled up outside to pick him up. He was literally at the point of emerging from the building.”

She stressed the long-serving Twickenham MP would normally have taken public transport but his busy schedule on the day had not made it possible.