Two Saudi diplomats have been expelled from the UK after being caught drink-driving, according to media reports.
According to Sky News, the two Saudi diplomats were expelled for three violations.
One of the diplomats was found to be responsible for two incidents of drink-driving in 2018, while another was found to be under the influence of alcohol and dangerous driving, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote in a statement to parliament.
“Owing to the serious nature of the alleged offences, both individuals were expelled from the diplomatic mission,” Raab wrote.
The statement added that the UK will ask countries to waive diplomatic immunity “where appropriate” in drink-driving cases. If refused, the government will ask that diplomats be withdrawn from their embassies.
In the case of the Saudi diplomats, Raab said that “the Foreign Office does not tolerate diplomats or dependants breaking the law”.
“We take all allegations of illegal activity seriously,” he said. “When the police or other law enforcement [agencies] bring instances of alleged criminal conduct to or attention, we ask the relevant foreign government or international organisation to waive immunity where appropriate.”
Approximately 23,000 people are entitled to diplomatic immunity in the UK.
Additionally, Raab said that diplomats in London now owe over £116 million ($149.9m) in congestion charge debt, with the US alone owing over $16 million.
The UK has been involved in a row with the US over its refusal to extradite a diplomat’s wife charged over a car crash that killed a British teenager.
The case of Anne Sacoolas has been a thorn in London’s close relations with Washington, stirring up debates over the limits of diplomatic immunity in cases unrelated to national security.
Harry Dunn, 19, died in August when his motorcycle collided with a car driving on the wrong side of the road near an air force base in Croughton, central England, used by the US military as a communications hub.
Sacoolas, who has admitted to being the driver, was charged by British police with causing death by dangerous driving.
However, she has cited immunity while refusing to return to Britain to face justice, as Dunn’s parents have demanded.
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