The wife of former Governor Sir Richard Sharples struck a cyclist with her handbag after he jumped a red light and nearly ran her down outside the House of Lords in London.

The Daily Mail reported yesterday that Baroness Sharples, an 84-year-old peer, said she wished she had hit the careless rider harder when she spoke about the incident in the Lords.

Baroness Sharples was married to Sir Richard Sharples when he was assassinated by Erskine (Buck) Burrows while serving as Governor of Bermuda in 1973.

She was made a life peer after his assassination. She also owns a house in Bermuda.

Yesterday she spoke in the Lords about her encounter with the 'rogue cyclist', she said: "I had a bag and I swiped him. I did not hit him hard enough."

Baroness Sharples added that this was the third time she had encountered a 'rogue cyclist' on the capital's streets.

"They are a ruddy nuisance," she added. "I know they need to get to work and a lot of them behave properly, but an increasing number just don't obey the lights and it's not fair on pedestrians."

She said that male cyclists were usually the worst: "Women do, in general, stop at the lights when they see somebody crossing."

The Baroness was concerned that she may have put herself at risk of being sued by the cyclist after lashing out. But a transport spokesman said she "probably did the right thing".

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has floated the idea of registration plates for bikes which would make it easier to identify cyclists ignoring traffic lights, riding on the pavement or endangering others.