VIDEO: US diplomats refuse to pay UK road tolls, $300,000 in fines

[redacted]

Diplomatic Immunity?

Published: 18 Oct 2005
By: Roz Upton

Can American diplomats really claim immunity from London's congestion charge?

It's probably not what America's founding fathers had in mind when they rebelled against an unfair tax to overthrow their British rulers.

Yet more than two hundred years later - US Embassy staff in London have declared the congestion charge an illegal tax under international law - and they're refusing to pay.


http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=967

[SoCalDem]

1. US will claim that UN officials do the same here

and will shrug it off:(

[CottonBear]

3. Are there any American cities with "congestion charges" and zones?

We have toll roads and bridges. I've never heard of American congestion zone.

[SoCalDem]

5. It's a "spirit of things" issue

There are UN people who owe "brazilians" of dollars in unpaid fines & fees.. Helmes used to darned near explode about it :)

[slampoet]

15. Boston should have banned all private vehicles downtown 25 years ago

..but the lobby is too strong from texas and detroit.

[CottonBear]

2. Good god, that's an incredibly stupid and undiplomatic act. n/t

[Gronk Groks]

4. With these Bozos, what's new???

Does this mis-administration even care about diplomacy???
Silly me, they don't even know what diplomacy is !!!!

[redacted]

6. And since when do our UK diplomats get to tool around in Rolls Royces?

Our president only gets to ride in SUV's and Cadillacs.

[Voltaire99]

7. American officials are to "international law"...

...as Judith Miller is to journalism.

Anyone else care to play? :-)

[Massacure]

8. "American officials are to "international law"..."

... As Oedipus is to bringing the slayer of Laius to justice.

[stlsaxman]

9. "American officials are to "international law"...

what sulphuric acid is to The Mona Lisa.

[Nihil]

13. "American officials" are to "international law"...

... what Bush is to the Whitehouse.

[anotherdrew]

10. these people are UNSANE. every bush appointee has to go!

there is going to have to be so many people fired. I want every appointment and hire made during his tenure voided.

[redacted]

11. Guess what? Tonight that's a real possibility

because Fitz says "no report," meaning indictments or nothing (see LBN for the details from the NYT). With 22 people indicted, some with 5 counts, it's going to be quite a clean sweep of the executive branch.

[oscarmitre]

12. Depending on who they are in the Embassy

they may well be immune. The international agreements on diplomatic and consular immunity under the Vienna Conventions are usually reflected in the domestic legislation of the hosting nation (in this case the UK). It's up to the US (probably the State Department I think) to issue orders to comply.

Some years ago here in Australia a member of the US Embassy who was driving under the influence and killed a woman was held to be immune from prosecution and taken out of the country by the US Government who refused to waive his diplomatic immunity for prosecution.

[rman]

14. conforming to international law, or not - as it suits them.

typical RW behaviour to make up the rules as they go.

[Truebrit71sbruv]

16. Much though I loathed the congestion charge...

... when I lived and worked in London, it did do a considerable amount to ease the log-jam that central London became on weekdays.

What actually makes me chuckle about this, is that as the Embassy is within the central zone, if the diplomats are registered at that address, they will only be paying less than half of what people driving into the city each day have to stump up.

But, let's face it people - given the behaviour of these nimrods all over the world, regardless of which country they come from - "diplomat" is about as big a misnomer as it is possible to come up with.