Barack Obama convoy fined over congestion charge

Barack Obama's presidential motorcade has been fined for not paying the congestion charge, the Standard reveals today.

A £120 penalty was imposed after the US authorities failed to pay the £10 levy on time.

Mayor Boris Johnson had asked for the congestion fee to be paid for the US president's high-security limousine, known as The Beast, and other vehicles which the Americans brought to London in May for his State visit.

But Mr Obama escaped a fine for "The Beast" as the congestion charge cameras were unable to record its number plate as it was travelling slowly, close to other vehicles in the motorcade.

Only one of the cars in the convoy is understood to have been issued with a fine, which the Americans refused to pay. A Transport for London spokesman said: "Any vehicle, regardless of where it is registered, which is identified within the Congestion Charging Zone during the hours of operation without a valid charge, discount or exemption can be subject to a penalty. TfL pursues penalties from foreign registered vehicles that have not paid the charge."

The latest fines were issued as part of a long-running row with the US Embassy, which owes more than £5 million in unpaid congestion charge fines, having received more than 45,000 notices since its introduction in 2003.

Mr Johnson raised the issue with Mr Obama at a banquet at Buckingham Palace in a "very friendly conversation" in May.

He has argued that The Beast and the rest of the convoy should have paid the charge as London's roads were not closed - unlike during the Pope's visit last autumn, when the Popemobile was exempt.

The American Embassy defended the refusal by US diplomats to pay the C-charge insisting it was "wholly in accordance" with the 1960 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which a spokesman said "prohibits the imposition of this sort of tax on diplomatic missions".