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Article: London mayor: U.S. ambassador behaving 'like some chiseling little crook' in toll dispute
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- March 27, 2006
- Author:
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BETH GARDINER, Associated Press Writer
AP Worldstream
03-27-2006
Dateline: LONDON
The U.S. ambassador to Britain was behaving "like some chiseling little crook" in a dispute over whether embassy cars should pay the capital's 8 pound (US$14; euro11) toll, London's mayor said Monday.
The embassy stopped paying the fee last July, shortly before Ambassador Robert Tuttle took up his post. It argues that the toll on those driving in central London during business hours is a tax that diplomats should not have to pay.
Mayor Ken Livingstone's office says the fee, known as the "congestion charge" and aimed at cutting traffic, is a payment for a service, not a tax.
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