Petrol retailers accused of ‘fleecing’ drivers as campaigners say fuel should be 20p a litre cheaper

Petrol prices have hit record highs but campaign claims they should actually be falling

Motorists have been facing soaring costs at the fuel pump (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Petrol suppliers have been accused of “fleecing” motorists by failing to cut prices despite falling oil costs.

The price of filling up a tank should already have dropped because of a drop in global oil prices and chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 5p fuel duty cut, according to Fair Fuel UK.

Analysis by the campaign group claims fuel giants are instead profiting up to 29p per litre in petrol and 37.5p in diesel.

FairFuelUK’s founder Howard Cox said: “Prices at the pumps should now be 15p to 20p less, due to oil costs falling by 30 per cent in March plus a welcome 6p cut in fuel taxes.”

The campaigner said the chancellor had the power to “stop the continual fleecing of drivers” as he called for an independent watchdog to be set up to regulate fuel prices at pumps.

Petrol retailers may be raking in as much as £30m in profits every day, The Sun reported.

It comes as motorists have been facing record prices at the pump, with reports of costs over £2 a litre in some places.

Pump prices rose more in March than in any previous month on record, according to the RAC, despite the chancellor announcing the 5p fuel duty cut in his spring statement.

As well as hitting a new record-high price of 167.3p on 22 March, the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol went up by 11.62p to end the month at 163.28p per litre – the largest ever increase the RAC has recorded in a single month.

Rishi Sunak cut the cost of fuel duty by 5p (HM Treasury)

The average price of diesel rocketed by 22.6p a litre, peaking at 179.9p on 23 March, ending the month at 177.29p.

This increase is three times the size of that recorded in May 2008, the previous worst month for diesel price rises, when the cost of a litre went up by 8.43p.

Fair Fuel UK claimed an estimated 1,200 pumps south of the Midlands had run dry on Sunday as days of action by Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion continued.

Activists targeted three fuel depots in Hertfordshire, Essex and Warwickshire, locking themselves onto pipes and blocking entrances to the sites, making it difficult to move fuel in and out.

The campaigners, who have been demonstrating since 1 April, are calling for the government to stop all new oil and gas projects.

The government confirmed the protests had led to short-term disruption to fuel deliveries – but urged people to continue to buy as normal.