The Times reports:
Noisy fuel price protests in central London
From Times Online April 29, 2008Valerie Elliott, Consumer Editor
Ministers are being urged to offer emergency assistance to the UK's road haulage industry as fuel prices expect to pass the £5 a gallon mark today.
Some 250 hauliers staged a noisy protest through central London today over the cost of diesel, to reinforce the plea from the Road Haulage Association.
By chance, the protest coincided with news of record, £7bn quarterly profits from the BP and Royal Dutch Shell oil companies.
[...]
Organisers of the London rally, Transaction-2007, were delighted with the turnout of support from as far afield as the Midlands and mid-Wales.
The protest followed the 48-hour strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland in a dispute over changes to pension policy.
A noisy and colourful cavalcade of 65 trucks lined Park Lane. One truck transporting a coffin to depict the demise of the haulage industry was due later to be escorted by protesters and police to the House Of Commons where a petition is to be handed to MPs
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Roger King, chief executive of the RHA, addressing a rally at Marble Arch, called for a windfall tax on the leading oil companies and for cash to be reinvested to help hauliers.[...]
He has already written to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, urging him to defer again the 2p hike in duty planned for October. This had been due to be introduced in April but the Treasury responded to industry concerns.
"We want him to make clear now that the October increase will also be shelved," Mr King said.
The RHA is pressing Mr Darling and MPs to support an amendment to the Finance Bill being introduced in the Commons by Alex Salmond, Scottish First Minister, to appoint a fuel duty regulator.
Mr King said: "Every time oil rises by $2 a barrel, 1p in duty is added to a litre of fuel. The aim of the regulator would be to trigger a 1p reduction in duty every time the oil price rises to stabilise prices at the pumps."
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The other thing that fuel protestors should do, is to give the Labour party a good kicking at the Local and Mayoral elections this Thursday May 1st 2008 - their politicians must not be allowed to shift the blame for the current fuel crisis away from themselves.
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