§ Mr. ElletsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish figures recording the number of unpaid parking fines incurred by diplomatic missions in London during 1994.
§ Mr. BaldryDuring 1994, the London diplomatic missions incurred a total of 3,613 unpaid parking fines, which is almost double the 1993 figure of 1,941. This increase, the first since 1986, occurred mainly in the second half of the year when parking in London was decriminalised and responsibility—with the exception of main thoroughfares—was transferred from the Metropolitan police to the 33 London boroughs. This change also coincided with a campaign to reduce the amount of illegal parking in London, which resulted in an increase in the numbers of parking tickets issued to the public, including the diplomatic corps. The table shows only missions which have 11 or more fines outstanding.
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Unpaid Parking Fines Diplomatic mission 1994 1993 United Arab Emirates 470 51 Angola 404 30 Qatar 353 28 Saudi Arabia 125 60 Nigeria 118 91 India 79 71 Ghana 76 35 Bulgaria 66 34 Oman 63 45 Pakistan 61 54 France 58 25 Sudan 56 39 Gabon 55 23 Jordan 52 50 Egypt 50 35 Bangladesh 49 59 Hungary 47 50 Bahrain 46 29 Kuwait 45 21 Cote D'lvoire 40 21 Indonesia 37 9 Malaysia 37 15 Brunei 35 22 Poland 35 27 Morocco 34 31 Israel 33 27 Greece 32 46 Thailand 32 32 Spain 31 48 Cuba 31 20 Russia 31 20 Romania 30 25 Cyprus 29 21 Tanzania 28 40 Turkey 27 13 South Africa 24 2 Algeria 24 17 Uganda 24 25 Malawi 24 18 Italy 23 21 United States 22 3 Germany 22 51 Zimbabwe 21 15 Zambia 20 45 Tunisia 20 28 Cameroon 20 35 Philippines 19 17 Portugal 19 12 Afghanistan 19 11 Zaire 18 8
Unpaid Parking Fines Diplomatic mission 1994 1993 Sierra Leone 17 8 Lesotho 14 11 Japan 14 5 China 13 14 Syria 13 9 Croatia 13 0 Barbados 13 19 Kenya 13 7 Fiji 12 5 Iran 12 7 Iceland 12 3 Botswana 12 6 Uruguay 12 23 Ethiopia 11 2 Peru 11 11 Czech Rep 11 6 International organizations European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 19 11 International Maritime Organisation 18 0 International Cocoa Organisation 15 12 Commonwealth Secretariat 11 17
§ Mr. SykesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many serious offences were allegedly committed in 1994 by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity; and how many foreign diplomats or members of their families were withdrawn from their posts in Britain in the past year as a result of alleged offences.
§ Mr. BaldryTwenty-five alleged serious offences by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity were drawn to the attention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1994. "Serious offences" are defined in accordance with the report to the Foreign Affairs Committee, "The Abuse of Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges (1985)", as offences which fall into the category which in certain circumstances attract a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment or more: the majority involved drinking and driving or shoplifting.
Six diplomats or members of their families were withdrawn from post in Britain as a result of alleged offences, compared with one the previous year.