Prime Minister Patrick Manning has broken no law where the use of the Coat of Arms on his car is concerned, Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert said in a release yesterday.

According to an Express article yesterday, Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert was investigating who was liable for using the Coat of Arms on the PM’s car—and referred to the Motor Vehicle Act, which governed the regulation of vehicles.

Imbert said Manning was neither the user nor the owner of the vehicle, as defined in the Act, and was merely a passenger.

In this context, Imbert said, the Act placed responsibility on users and/or owners of vehicles, rather than passengers.

Imbert said Government vehicles were exempt under the law from the requirement for insurance, including third party insurance, contrary to the assertions of the Express article.

“Thirdly, there is no reference to the use of the Coat of Arms in section 16 of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, as alleged by the Express,” Imbert said.

He said since 1997, under section 4A of the Act, the procedures for the registration of vehicles, which included the procedures relating to identification marks, were approved from time to time by the minister with responsibility for road transport.

“The vehicle in question is registered and the Prime Minister has broken no law,” Imbert said.