HC Deb 22 July 1976 vol 915 cc549-50W
Mr. Greville Janner

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (1) he will protest to the Nigerian High Commissioner by reason of the 15,052 parking offences committed by persons on the list of that high commission, which have resulted in their claiming diplomatic immunity and thereby avoiding the payment of fines in the sum of £41,144, and at the fact that its accredited members avoided payment of more parking fines than any other commission during each of the past five years;

(2) whether he will protest to the Cuban Embassy by reason of the 10,627 parking offences committed by persons on the list of that embassy, which have resulted in their claiming diplomatic immunity and thereby avoiding the payment of fines in the sum of £28,714, and at the fact that its accredited members have achieved the second largest total of non-payments of parking fines during the past five years;

(3) whether he will protest to the Saudi Arabian Embassy by reason of the 9,003 parking offences committed by persons on the list of that embassy, which have resulted in their claiming diplomatic immunity and thereby avoiding the payment of fines in the sum of £22,666, and at the fact that its accredited members have achieved the third largest total of non-payments of parking fines during the past five years;

(4) whether he will protest to the Iranian Embassy by reason of the 8,810 parking offences committed by persons on the list of that embassy, which have resulted in their claiming diplomatic immunity and thereby avoiding the payment of fines in the sum of £23,416, and at the fact that its accredited members have achieved the fourth largest total of non-payments of parking fines during the past five years;

(5) whether he will protest to the Egyptian Embassy by reason of the 8,449 parking offences committed by persons on the list of that embassy, which have resulted in their claiming diplomatic immunity and thereby avoiding the payment of fines in the sum of £22,862, and at the fact that its accredited members have achieved the fifth largest total of non-payments of parking fines during the past five years;

(6) whether he will protest to the Cypriot High Commission by reason of the 8,211 parking offences committed by persons on the list of that high commission which have resulted in their claiming diplomatic immunity and thereby avoiding the payment of fines in the sum of £22,746, and at the fact that its accredited members have achieved the sixth largest total of non-payments of parking fines during the past five years.

Mr. Tomlinson

My right hon. Friend's officials have had and will continue to have discussions with diplomatic missions, including those of the six countries referred to by my hon. and learned Friend, in an effort to find solutions to the parking problem.