Britain’s petrol retailers have been accused of profiteering from the energy crisis after research found they had failed to pass on nearly half of Rishi Sunak’s 5p fuel duty cut. As diesel prices hit record highs, the RAC said that retailers were taking, on average, 2p more in profit per litre of fuel sold than they did before the chancellor reduced duty in March. With motorists buying about three and a half billion litres of fuel a month, the research suggests that petrol retailers may be making extra profits of about £7 million a month. Ministers urged retailers to pass on the duty cut to motorists to ease the cost of living.
Tory MPs called for a regulator to protect consumers. “These companies are fleecing motorists along with the major oil companies and seem to be the only people doing well out of the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis,” said Robert Halfon, who led the campaign for the March fuel duty cut.
