US Embassy cheats Londoners out of £3,821,880

It’s the special relationship!

The single biggest offender – albeit on less serious allegations – is the US, which has run up £3,821,880 in unpaid fines incurred in a seven-year diplomatic stand-off over the congestion charge.

There are 25,000 embassy staff and their dependants in the UK covered by diplomatic immunity: over the past five years there were 78 exemptions from serious charges.

One member from each of the Brazilian, German, US and Russian embassies were caught drink-driving but released without charge this year.

[Nice to know that the Guardian doesn't think drunken driving is a 'serious' offence. Ed.]

Russia also owes Transport for London £3,204,990.

Germany owes £2.64m

And this is sort of interesting, wouldn’t you say?

Afghanistan owes £34,780