5 FEBRUARY 2005, Page 18

One fine day

From Bob Gardiner

Sir: I very much sympathise with Miriam Gross about her £50 fine (Diary, 29 January). Recently, I went into London during a public holiday and stayed at a hotel in Piccadilly. I left in the morning at 8:30 via Park Lane. I was on the M1 about half an hour later and continued north.

I then received a £50 fine for not paying the congestion charge. I have to admit I didn’t realise you had to pay for leaving the zone. It is the first time I have been to London since it was introduced and I am used to the Scandinavian method of paying as you enter a zone. It shows how efficient the government is at raising hidden taxes; similar to the contagion of speed cameras. Bob Gardiner

Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire