A woman killed as she cycled to work was mourned yesterday by colleagues as a “brilliant young scientist”.

Katharine Giles, a research fellow at University College London who was known for pioneering work on global warming, was killed by a truck turning left into Victoria Street in Westminster on Monday morning. In what onlookers described as “shocking scenes”, the crash left her bike mangled by the roadside, its wheels twisted and wicker basket crumpled.

Paramedics arrived within three minutes but were unable to save her. The driver of the tipper truck was interviewed by police but was not arrested. Dr Giles, who worked at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at UCL, had visited both the Arctic and Antarctic in the past year to