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Written question asked by Christian Matheson (Labour) on Monday, 28 October 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 30 October 2019. It was answered by Christopher Pincher (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 November 2019 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

USA: Diplomatic Immunity

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many requests by the US Administration were (a) made to and (b) granted by HM Embassy Washington DC for diplomatic immunity to be waived for (i) motoring and (ii) other offences by UK personnel and their families covered by diplomatic immunity in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Answer

The diplomatic immunity of United Kingdom staff or their family members has been waived, in response to the below requests from the US Administration, over the last five years, in relation to motoring and other offences:

Year

Driving offences

Other offences

2019

2

2018

1

2017

2016

1

2015

1

Diplomatic immunity is governed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations or the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and in agreement with the host nation in accordance with its laws and regulations.

All British diplomatic staff are expected to respect and comply with local laws. HMG's policy is that immunity should not be unreasonably maintained and may only be claimed in exceptional circumstances, such as to protect staff from hostile action from host authorities. We expect the highest standard of conduct from British civil servants, and their families, when serving overseas and staff are expected to answer to any criminal or civil charge brought against them.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
6414
Session
2019-19
Subjects
British nationals abroad Diplomatic immunity USA
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk