Boris Gets Special Salute On Cycle Highway

It was perhaps an unusual way to thank the London Mayor for creating a cycling superhighway in the capital.

However, one cyclist saw fit to greet Boris Johnson with a single finger salute of gratitude as the mayor cycled past him to mark the opening of the ambitious bike route.

He was not the only one. Mr Johnson was also served a volley of verbal abuse from three other cyclists, which he laughed off saying there was still "a lot of work to do" to delivering a safer city for cyclists.

Photographers caught the gesture as Mr Johnson cycled across Vauxhall Bridge in the centre of London

Mr Johnson said: "The people I met on the cycleway seemed to love it.

"This is probably, in a hotly-contested field, one of the most difficult things we have had to do. It has caused an awful lot of aggro, particularly with senior colleagues in parliament who like to travel around in cars."

More than 750 cyclists are using the segregated lane at peak times.

The mayor added: "It will be a wonderful thing for London and this is just the beginning of a massive programme."