NIGERIA & ZAMBIA DIPLOMATS TOPPED THE LIST OF THE WORST TRAFFIC OFFENDERS IN LONDON.

London, UNITED KINGDOM:

While they may be the bane of every driver who is stuck for a space in a busy city centre, most of us accept that when we’ve parked on those dreaded double yellow lines, we’ll inevitably have to pay a fine later.

But that’s not the case for the various diplomats who inhabit the city of London. With the power of diplomatic immunity, the staff of embassies and consulates based in the capital are able to park where they like – and are not legally obliged to pay their fines. The result, as you can imagine, is some fairly huge debts racked up against the missions of London.

In an effort to shame them, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has just released how much the the various embassies owe from last year. Top of the list this time is the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who owe a massive £39,225. (But even their debts are still dwarfed by the £11,925,920 the United States of America owes in unpaid congestion charge fines.)

In the spirit of trying to clear the clogged streets of London from the scourge of diplomatic parkers, Mr S presents the worst offenders here:

Diplomatic Mission/International Organisation 2017, Amount of Outstanding Fines (excluding congestion charge):

High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria

£39,225

High Commission for the Republic of Zambia

£20,450

Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia

£18,535

Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

£12,920

Embassy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

£11,145

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

£10,885

Embassy of the United Arab Emirates

£10,825

Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman

£9,650

Malaysian High Commission

£8,965

Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan

£8,735

Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan

£7,885

Embassy of Libya

£7,075

Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan

£6,890

Embassy of France

£4,960

Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

£4,485

Embassy of the State of Qatar

£4,055

Embassy of the Republic of Iraq

£3,685

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

£3,010

Embassy of the Republic of Liberia

£2,940

Office of the High Commissioner for India

£2,835

High Commission for Sierra Leone

£2,445

Embassy of the State of Kuwait

£2,415

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China

£2,290

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania

£2,090

High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

£2,030

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia

£2,005

Embassy of Romania

£1,785

Embassy of the Russian Federation

£1,770

Embassy of the Republic of Angola

£1,750

Royal Thai Embassy

£1,625

Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

£1,510

Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

£1,320

Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria

£1,210

Embassy of Georgia

£1,210

Embassy of Ukraine

£1,200

Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan

£1,120

High Commission of the United Republic of Tanzania

£1,070

SOURCE:Spectator.

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