Diplomats owe £165m in London congestion charges

The amount owed by diplomats in unpaid congestion charges has risen to £165m, new figures reveal.

The largest outstanding debts belong to the embassies of the US (£15.9m), China (£11.5m), Japan (£10.9m) and India (£10.1m), according to Transport for London (TfL).

Of the 146 embassies and high commissions which have unpaid fees, Indonesia (£90), Togo (£120) and the Netherlands and Peru (both £180) owe the least.

TfL said that "foreign diplomats and consular staff are not exempt from paying the congestion charge" but a US embassy spokesperson said "our position is that the congestion charge is a tax from which diplomatic missions are exempt".

Drivers in central London must currently pay £18 to drive non-electric vehicles between 07:00 and 18:00 on weekdays and from noon until 18:00 on weekends and bank holidays. A penalty of £180 is issued if this is not paid.

These figures, released under Freedom of Information laws, cover between 2003 - when the charge was £5 - and 30 September 2025, by which time the charge had risen to £15.

The embassy of Saudi Arabia paid the largest number (47,538) of daily charges, between 2017 and 2025. However, it still owes TfL £260,560.

The embassies of Egypt (37,117) and Qatar (33,887) paid the next highest number of charges to drive.

However they both still owe £244,000 and £48,620 respectively. By contrast, the US purchased just 76 during the same period.

A US embassy spokesperson said: "In accordance with international law as reflected in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, our position is that the congestion charge is a tax from which diplomatic missions are exempt.

"Our long-standing position is shared by many other diplomatic missions in London."

A TfL spokesperson said: "We continue to pursue all unpaid congestion charges and related penalty charge notices."

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