News

The UK officially has the highest diesel prices in the EU, according to figures just released by the government.

The latest national statistics on energy trends and prices produced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that the average price of diesel in the UK in April 2009, including tax, was the highest in the EU at 101.9p per litre.

Romania had the lowest average, at 71.4p per litre.

Also in April, tax accounted  for 66% of the total price of diesel in the UK, compared with a range of 45% to 62% in the rest of the EU.

Last month, the House of Commons voted against proposals put forward by the Scottish National Party (SNP) to introduce a new fuel duty regulator.

Angus MacNeil MP, Westminster transport spokesman for the SNP, says: "The treasury's tax take on fuel is modern-day highway robbery and these figures unmask Alistair Darling as the Dick Turpin of the forecourt.

"It is scandalous that in oil-rich Scotland, key sectors are struggling to fill their tanks, and a fuel duty regulator would have made an enormous difference."