Two Saudi diplomats expelled from UK for driving under influence of alcohol

This week, the UK expelled two Saudi diplomats who were based in the country after they were accused of driving while drunk, Sky News reported. 

The news was announced by the UK's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who confirmed the duo's diplomatic immunity was canceled due to their offenses. 

The pair - whose names weren't revealed to the public - will be deported from the country over a total of three offenses. One of them was caught driving under the influence of alcohol twice in 2018, while the other was accused of driving while drunk and dangerous driving. 

The UK government considers drink-driving a serious offense. When diplomats are charged with the latter, local officials have the power to ask their home countries to waive diplomatic immunity "where appropriate." 

If a similar request is rejected, the UK then demands the "diplomats are withdrawn from their embassies."

"Owing to the serious nature of the alleged offenses, both individuals were expelled from the diplomatic mission," Raab said in a statement on the expulsions. 

Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, around 23,000 people are entitled to diplomatic immunity in the UK. The UK government annually releases details of serious and significant offenses committed by people entitled to such protection. 

According to Forbes, "serious offenses are defined as those that could, in certain circumstances, result in a prison term of 12 months or more, along with drunken driving and driving without insurance."

This isn't the first time Saudi diplomats make headlines for violating laws in the UK. In 2016, a Saudi attaché faced legal trouble after he was accused of driving without insurance. That same year, another diplomat was caught driving under the influence while using a mobile phone. 

In 2015, yet another diplomat representing Saudi Arabia in the UK was accused of human trafficking for the "purpose of domestic servitude" and another was found guilty of human trafficking for forced or compulsory labor. 

Saudi diplomats aren't the only Arab attachés who were caught breaking the law in the country over the years. 

In 2016, a Qatari diplomat was accused of driving without insurance. A Libyan diplomat was also accused of more serious charges involving "causing body harm, possession of drugs with intent to supply and possession of an offensive weapon."