The Lib Dems have called for the Russian Embassy to pay the £6million congestion charge bill and for the money to be donated to Ukraine by UK authorities
Russia owes almost £6million in unpaid fees for London’s congestion charge.
The Lib Dems have called for the Russian Embassy to pay the bill and for the money to be donated to Ukraine by UK authorities. The embassy had racked up a bill of £5,993,625 for failing to pay the congestion charge on the use of its diplomatic vehicles as of December 2022.
The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most vehicles driven within a particular zone in central London during certain times. The US Embassy had racked up the highest debt at £14.6million for failing to pay the fee. This is followed by the Embassy of Japan at £10million and then the Office of the High Commissioner for India at £8.5million. Russia came sixth in the list.
Lib Dem Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Layla Moran said: “It’s outrageous that the Russian embassy has racked up a £6m bill and are refusing to pay the congestion charge. The UK Government must pursue every available avenue to secure these funds – so that we can give them to our Ukrainian allies as they fight against Russia’s brutal invasion. Frankly, if the Russian Embassy doesn’t want to pay their £6million bill then we should ban them from driving in the capital. Enough is enough.”
Foreign Office Minister David Rutley, who released the figures in a Written Ministerial Statement, said the pandemic affected the collection of debt information by responsible authorities. But he said there was no excuse for countries not to pay the fee. “We consider that there are no legal grounds to exempt diplomatic missions and international organisations from the London Congestion Charge, which is comparable to a parking fee or toll charge they are required to pay,” he added.
“Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations diplomats have an obligation to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. The British Government therefore expects all diplomatic missions to respect UK laws and regulations, which includes payment of the Congestion Charge.”
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