Robert Halfon MP

Motorists deserve a full inquiry into fuel price-fixing allegations

Everybody knows that the price of motoring fuel is too expensive. Often, this is blamed on the taxman: at nearly 60 per cent of the cost of fuel, it is a toxic tax that affects the price of everything. Of course, we should recognise that fuel duty is 13p cheaper in tax terms thanks to actions by the Chancellor, but fuel duty needs to be a top priority for tax cuts as soon as financial conditions allow.

But the desire to see lower fuel taxation often means that the wider debate on the price of fuel is overshadowed. This changed in May this year when it was announced that the European Union had raided the offices of several oil giants to look into allegations of price fixing.

Many have long suspected that there may be some manipulation of oil prices.

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