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Speaking at this morning’s lobby of the Houses of Parliament, Roger King, chief executive of the RHA, said that the association was there to “underline the difficulties and challenges the road haulage sector is suffering from”.

He added: “We have high fuel prices that are  rising every single day and we need the government to understand the impact that is having on the economics of road transport.”

King said that the industry was finding it increasingly difficult to pass on rising fuel costs and that the SNP amendment to the finance bill, which would create a fuel duty regulator, would be help the industry. He said: “[The regulator] will offset the extra VAT the government is receiving, which is about £1bn unbudgeted per year, against a modest reduction in fuel duty which will bring some stability. But nobody is suggesting that is the ultimate solution.

“In the debate today we want the government to say unequivocally that it will drop the 2p/litre increase for Oct and the March increase of inflation plus 0.5p.”

King said he also wanted the government to address “the monstrous difference in diesel and petrol prices which is about 15p/lit”.

He also stressed the need for a pan-European tax for professional users, which would bring  a level playing field to the Continent and would ensure that all modes were taxed the same.

Stewart Hosie, the SNP MP who is sponsoring the amendment, said: “The amendment that we are proposing is not the be-all and end-all, there does need to be a standard rate across the whole of Europe.

“But this amendment is seeking the government to recognise that it is one of the ‘fat cat’ organisations benefiting from the spike in oil prices and that it needs to invest some of that back into the industry.”

Peter Carroll from TransAction added: “We want the government to use common sense and realise that this isn’t an environmental issue, this is about people who have built up businesses, sometimes over generations, people who put in 18-hour days to make it work and are remortgaging their homes and suffering incredible stress just to try and make ends meet.”