WESTERN EXTENSION EMBASSIES COST LONDON £20,000 A DAY IN UNPAID CONGESTION CHARGE FINES"- POPE

10.39.38am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 3rd Apr 2007

New research released today by the Liberal Democrat Transport spokesman on the London Assembly, Geoff Pope, shows that embassies in the western extension zone are clocking up at least £20,000 a day on fines in unpaid congestion charges.

Commenting, Geoff Pope said:

"In the first 8 days of the western extension coming into force, embassies based there ran up over £150,000 in fines. This is an insult to law-abiding London taxpayers.

'You'd hope the Mayor's closeness with the Mayors of Moscow and Berlin would help ensure their countries would not stick up the proverbial two fingers to London. Russia and Germany have no excuse for not paying up when St Lucia - a country half the size of London - has no payments outstanding.

'If 42 embassies in the western extension can settle up without any trouble, it gives the lie to the claim of others that London's congestion charge is a tax not a toll - their figleaf excuse for not paying it. Revenue from congestion charging helps fund much needed improvements to London's public transport network. It's high time all embassies paid up like everyone else." ENDS

Notes to the Editors

1. According to the TfL website:

The full charge payable [in Penalty Charge Notices] is £100 which is discounted by 50% to £50 if paid within 14 days. Should payment not be received within the first 28 days a Charge Certificate will be issued and you will be liable to pay £150. If a debt is registered you will be liable to pay £155. If the debt has been passed to a bailiff to recover you must pay the bailiff directly. Please see Questions & answers for a more detailed explanation. https://www.cclondon.com/secure/dynamicpages/WF_PayPCN_W.aspx

The Mayor's answers (Appendix 1) states that the PCNs were incurred

from 19 Feb till 28 Feb but still outstanding as of 21 March, hence forfeiting the 50% discount. All PCNs in the western extension were therefore calculated at £100 per PCN (see Appendix 2). If calculated at £150 per PCN, the outstanding PCNS from embassies in the western extension is £228,150. For the central zone, PCNs were calculated at £150, given most were repeat offences outstanding for over 28 days, since the congestion charging zone was introduced in February 2003.

2. There are 149 Embassies in the congestion charging zone: 85 are in the western extension (of which 42 pay and 43 don't pay) and 64 are in the central congestion zone (of which 20 pay and 44 don't pay)

See