Britain’s diesel prices are the lowest in Europe before tax – but the highest once tax has been added on, official Government figures have revealed.
The figures show that UK drivers are struggling with the biggest tax burden in Europe, and it is only likely to get bigger.
In Britain the average pre-tax price for diesel was 48.8p per litre during April, but that spiralled to 116.6p per litre at the pump. This means taxes account for a mighty 58% of the total price.
It’s a similar story with unleaded petrol. The average pre-tax price was 41.2p per litre in April – the third lowest in the EU – but this rose to 107.6p once taxes were added.
After tax, 18 other countries had cheaper unleaded, according to the figures from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
The shocking statistics come in the same week that truckers staged a protest in London, calling for the Gordon Brown to tackle rising fuel costs.
The Tories said the latest statistics showed that the Government could not blame international fuel costs for sky-high prices at the pumps.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond said: 'Gordon Brown's claim that world oil prices are to blame for the soaring cost of motoring has been exposed as a sham. The blame lies squarely with him.'
A Treasury spokesman denied that fuel taxes were too high, saying they were justified because they were green and designed to reduce carbon consumption.