A female cyclist has been killed after she was hit by a lorry in central London.

Police said a 55-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene after colliding with a truck at the junction of Millbank and Lambeth Bridge near Westminster. The junction formed part of a Transport for London consultation on safety in 2012, but it was decided that improvements would not be made as resources were to be put into more substantial improvements in other parts of the city.

This is the fifth fatality involving a cyclist in the capital this year, all of which have involved heavy goods vehicles. There has been a total of 30 fatalities on London's roads this year involving all types of road users, a figure which was 10 for the whole of 2014.

Tom Jones, head of policy at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “This tragic incident shows that the need to improve infrastructure to allow the safe movement of cyclists is greater than ever.

“In less than four months, we have learned of five cyclists losing their lives in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles in central London alone. Surely such statistics must make our politicians sit up and recognise the dire need for road and vehicle safety improvements, and the coalition government realise that their spending on cycling has fallen well below the required amount.

“There is no point trying to encourage more people to use sustainable transport means like cycling if it isn’t supported by a coordinated commitment to improving road infrastructure and cycling safety.

“The time is long overdue for this this problem to be addressed. Concrete action needs to happen to protect cyclists, and if it doesn’t even more lives will needlessly be lost on our roads.”