Motorists fury as 'profiteering' Shell and BP post record profits of more than £3million an hour... as petrol prices near £1.50 a litre

The two companies announced combined profits of £7.2billion for the first three months of the year.

At the same time petrol hit a record £5 a gallon (£1.10 a litre), oil nudged an unprecedented $120 a barrel and fuel protesters took to the streets.

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Lorry drivers protest about the tax on petrol as they leave a Kent service station

The Government was also criticised for taking nearly 70p in every pound paid by motorists at the pumps.

Motoring groups said both the oil companies and the Government were "laughing all the way to the bank".

The oil firms' profits were announced just as the 48-hour strike by 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland ended after cutting off a third of the UK's oil and gas supplies.

This cost the economy more than £100million and led to fuel shortages, panic buying and rationing.

There are several more fuel price increases in the pipeline.

Petrol retailers predict unleaded will rise by 2p a litre (to £1.12p) within days, and another 5p by summer. Some analysts predict it could top £1.50 a litre by September.

Yesterday Gordon Brown said he was "very worried" about the impact of rising oil prices on families and pensioners.

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But critics accused the Premier and his Chancellor of shedding crocodile tears, pointing out that the Government itself is the other main "profiteer" from rising oil prices.

Accountants Grant Thornton said the Government had enjoyed a £4billion windfall last year from the boost to North Sea Oil and Gas tax - expected to increase to nearly £5billion this year.

The Government also gains because the Treasury's-VAT takings from petrol and diesel rise in line with prices at the pumps.

The accountants estimated the Government will get £123million a month extra from VAT on fuel than a year ago.

"It's big bonanza time for the Government while everyone else suffers," said senior tax partner Maurice Fitzpatrick.

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Cars queue for petrol at a BP station. The firm announced record profits

Motorists face more pain at the pumps in the autumn when a 2p-a-litre tax hike, deferred from the Budget, is imposed.

Mr Brown said the Government had frozen fuel duty and was also pressing for Opec, the oil producers, to get the price of oil down.

But AA president Edmund King said motorists were still the biggest losers.

"The motorist feels somewhat battered from all sides, seeing the oil companies going off with cash in their pockets and the Treasury filling its coffers," he said.

"It's the ordinary motorist that's bearing the brunt of this while the oil companies and the Government are laughing all the way to the bank.

"We also believe that some garages have been profiteering."

He said one garage in Tunbridge Wells had increased the price of diesel from 120.9p to 129.9p a litre in a week. "There is no justification for that," he added.

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The AA said filling up the average Ford Mondeo with petrol costs £8 more than a year ago - or £12 for diesel.

Fuel protesters campaigning against record diesel prices took to the streets of London yesterday.

Led by a convoy of lorries with horns blaring, hauliers left a coffin symbolising the death of haulage businesses at the Houses of Parliament.

They are angry that diesel prices have surged by 30 per cent in a year, meaning it costs £1,000 to fill a delivery truck.