UK Government under pressure over fuel price rises

The government today came under renewed pressure to take action over the cost of fuel as the average price of a litre of unleaded petrol reached 113.67p.

The Automobile Association compared the price increase to that seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, saying it would mean Britain's drivers paying £110m more this bank holiday than last year.

Its price report showed that this month's cost rise had been the second highest since 2000 - £3.38 to the cost of filling a typical 50-litre diesel fuel tank – with much of the increase coming in the past 10 days following an 11% rise in wholesale prices.

"The price rises in recent days were of a magnitude only exceeded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when the price of petrol rose almost 3.5 pence in a week," Edmund King, the AA president, said.

Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP for Chorley, called on the government to abandon the method by which fuel prices are raised in line with inflation.

The call comes prior to an October decision on whether to raise fuel duty by 2p.

Hoyle told the BBC's World at One programme that "people want to see the fuel duty escalator completely abandoned".

"Rather than wait until the autumn, we need to tell people that it will be abandoned now," he added, calling on the government to toughen up on the profits made by oil companies.

Chris Hunter, of the road hauliers' lobby group Transaction 2007, said it had written to the government demanding help for hauliers, some of whom had been forced out of business by increased prices.

The Treasury will pick up a windfall of more than £1 billion from the higher oil price and is now under pressure to abandon the tax rises.

Next week, fuel protesters are due to converge on London to demand that Gordon Brown steps in and cuts fuel taxes.

The Treasury has said it understands motorists' concerns. Ministers have vowed to put pressure on members of Opec to increase production.