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The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has welcomed the findings of an influential House of Commons committee report, which says it is "patently unfair" that foreign trucks can use UK roads without being charged.

The Freight Transport report by the Transport Select Committee is scathing over the government's position on foreign trucks. It says: "It is patently unfair that  UK hauliers continue to subsidise their Continental competitors through high levels of taxation on fuel, eight years after the government announced proposals to address this."

It warns that with plans to liberalise cabotage, the problem will get worse. It adds: "We are astonished that work on a vignette scheme has been abandoned with no recognition of the need for an alternative."

RHA chief executive Roger King says: "The committee's strongly-worded support is timely.

"The government must stop pretending that there is no problem and [claiming] that in any case nothing can be done."