LONDON'S congestion charge has been well-received on the whole.

The predicted chaos has failed to materialise, and the roads around the centre of the capital are much clearer - even if the Tubes are even more hellish than normal.

But there has been the odd hiccup, as Peter Luff can testify.

He registered for a discount before the scheme got underway, as his London home falls within the congestion zone.

But his car registration was not taken down properly, with a zero being recorded as an "o".

As a result, a fine for £80 landed on Peter's doorstep.

"Needless to say, I am appealing. I thought they had recorded the number plate wrong at the time, but I was assured that was not the case," he said.

MP joins the party

MIKE Foster may have been coy about the timing of his 40th birthday, but he got the surprise party all the same.

In time-honoured tradition, he received the call to attend via an order to go somewhere to meet someone important - in his case, Education Secretary Charles Clarke.

When he arrived at Westminster's Portcullis House, he was greeted by not only Mr Clarke but his own boss, Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge, wife Shauna and friends from the animal welfare lobby.

Byers on the rails

PETER Luff spotted former Transport Secretary Stephen Byers speaking to BBC political editor Andrew Marr during Tuesday's Iraq debate.

Peter approached the pair and said to Mr Marr: "Do you know they are thinking of putting Stephen in charge of Iraq's transport system?"

A self-effacing Mr Byers replied: "We don't want to do that much damage."