Brit taxpayers have paid £33,000 for ministers' parking fines in 3yrs

London, December 21 (ANI): Parking fines run up by Cabinet ministers have cost British taxpayers a staggering 33,000 pounds in the last three years, almost 1,000 pounds a month.

While the ministers are required to pay their own fines, reports suggest that they exploit a security loophole to get the amount out of the public's pockets.

"Motorists will be outraged by this. They are already being fleeced left, right and centre-now they are having to pay for politicians' parking fines," News of the World quoted a fuming Hugh Bladen, of the Association of British Drivers, as saying.

Figures from the Department for Transport have reveal that Cabinet ministers were hit with 13,930 pounds in parking fines this year, and 7,540 pounds and 11,928 pounds in the previous two years.

Transport Minister Lord Bassam admitted: "Parking tickets remain the responsibility of the individual."

He, however, added: "The government car and despatch agency pays parking fines incurred operationally in circumstances where the overriding security requirements necessarily dictate the choice of parking location." (ANI)