Diplomatic Missions: Unpaid Congestion Charges and Parking Fines

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes an extremely important point. Our diplomats are very careful to pay all outstanding charges when they are overseas. We discourage any parking offences and in the United States our diplomats pay toll charges, which are equivalent to our congestion charge.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords—

[Lord Avebury]

My Lords—

[Lord Strathclyde]

My Lords, my sense is that the House would like to hear from my noble friend Lord Tebbit and then from my noble friend Lord Avebury.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, could we not experiment with wheel clamping the CD-plated cars of particular embassies? That might have a good effect—and while we are about it, we could try wheel clamping one or two Lib Dem Members of this House.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I am sure that my noble friend knows the details of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, under which diplomatic cars are inviolable. Therefore, we cannot clamp them.