The Prime Minister’s routine half-truths, exaggerations and Brownies may have bored the British public into submission, but every now and again we get foreign governments or organisations setting him straight. After the Germans (and everyone else – list here) now it’s the turn of Abdalla Salem El-Badri, head of Opec, to gently point out that British petrol prices were so high because 72 per cent of the pump price is tax. The “highest in Europe”, el-Badri said. He wasn’t undiplomatic enough to accuse the Prime Minister of deliberately misleading the British public, but he did say this:
“I think Mr Brown is very confused. If he is looking out for the interests of his people he should look at the taxes. I advise that he should really look at these high taxes…”
Petrol is now 89.5p/litre according to the AA . It’s worth noting that under the ‘fuel price stabiliser’ that George Osborne outlines, it would be 9p higher.
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