Fuel duty convoy to jam the capital - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

Fuel duty convoy to jam the capital

Lorry drivers are to pour into London for what organisers hope will be the largest-ever fuel duty protest in the capital.

Hauliers are angry at soaring fuel prices which have resulted in the average cost of diesel passing far beyond the 120p-a-litre mark.

Led by lorry drivers from Kent, the protest is expected to attract hundreds of hauliers from all around the UK.

The convoy will make its way to central London, parking close to Marble Arch.

Transport for London said the A40 will be closed between White City and Edgware Road, west London, from 10am until 3pm so that demonstrators can park their lorries.

The westbound carriageway of the A40, going out of London, will remain open.

A delegation from the demonstrators will hand a letter to 10 Downing Street demanding the immediate introduction of an essential user rebate which would allow HGV operators to claim some of the fuel duty back.

Mike Presneill, a leading member of Transaction 2007, who is helping to organise the protest, said: "Fuel is rocketing. The Government has the power to act but appears not to be listening. Hundreds of UK transport firms are being driven to the wall. Thousands of UK jobs are being lost.

"Foreign hauliers are entering the UK with cheaper fuel purchased abroad. They contribute nothing to our economy."

Kent-based haulier Peter Knight said: "This is the economics of the mad house. If we are wiped out, the work will be done by foreign hauliers who pay nothing to the UK in tax."

News in brief in Pictures

Don't Miss
Victoria Coren: My obsession with children, five proposals a week and why David and I are no power couple

Victoria Coren

David Mitchell and I are no power couple
The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition preview party

Summer party

Stars at the The Royal Academy of Arts
London gets ready for the Diamond Jubilee - in pictures

Diamond Jubilee

London gets ready - in pictures
The Glamour Awards - stars turn on the style

Glamour Awards

Stars turn on the style
Duchess of Cambridge is pretty in pink at her first Buckingham Palace garden party

Garden party

Duchess of Cambridge is pretty in pink
FIRST review of Ridley Scott's latest sci-fi blockbuster Prometheus

First review

Is Ridley Scott's Prometheus any good?
Fair-weather goths

Fair-weather goths

The sultry shades of summer darks are coming out of the shadows
Dog save the Queen: Corgis surge in popularity

Dog save the Queen

Corgis surge in popularity
'He’s a better ex than he was a husband', says Boris Johnson's ex wife

A better ex than husband

We talk to Boris Johnson's ex wife
TV Baftas - in pictures

Best of the Baftas

Stars on the red, white and blue carpet