The leader of the national Liberal Democrat party was given an unfortunate welcome to Northampton during a visit yesterday, when he had an encounter with a traffic warden.
Local politicians were left red-faced after the people carrier they used to ferry party leader Nick Clegg around town was ticketed when it was parked in Dychurch Lane in the town centre.
But Mr Clegg said he would make sure the ticket was dealt with right away.
He said: "I don't think it was my car that got the ticket, it was one of the local councillors, but it will be dealt with, nobody's above the law."
The blue Renault Scenic actually belonged to Northampton Borough Council's cabinet member for the environment, Councillor Trini Crake (Lib Dem, Boughton Green).
She was given the ticket despite displaying a disabled parking badge because she was parked in an area designated for loading.
She said in an emailed statement: "I am going to pay the fine and then have a word with the county council so other disabled badge-holders are not caught out."
A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council added: "Dychurch Lane has loading bays most of the way down and although blue badge holders can park on single or double yellow lines for up to three hours, they're not entitled to park when there's a ban on loading or unloading."