Another day, another transport story.
This one is quite intriguing, though, as a diplomatic row is brewing between Boris and none other than Barack Obama over unpaid congestion charges. It turns out that the American Embassy refuses to pay the £8 congestion charge (unlike around three quarters of the other embassies) because they consider it a “tax” and therefore not payable because of their diplomatic immunity.
Apparently the American’s owe Transport for London the not insignificant sum of £3,446,420 in charges and fines, a sum which the Yanks have no intention of paying. Apparently the collective sum owed by these rebel embassies is around £28million [Rebel embassy? That sounds quite like something out of The Empire Strikes Back – Boriswatch Ed]
Considering Boris’ claims last year that “he would happily ‘slap an asbo’ on non-paying embassies were it not for the Geneva conventions” we at Boriswatch Towers are looking forward to Obama being served with such an ASBO, presumably whilst happy slapping President Ahmadinejad in a hoodie….
This one is intriguing! whatever happens, I am sure Boris will handle the matter more diplomatically than Ken Livingstone, who called the American Ambassador “a chiselling little crook”.