Stop oil giants “profiteering” and launch pump price watchdog, FairFuelUK tells PM

New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must take action to stop the “profiteering” of oil companies and wholesalers, cut fuel duty and launch an independent pump price watchdog.

The call comes from lobby group FairFuelUK, which condemns the lack of government action to cut fuel prices and tax oil corporations.

Howard Cox, FairFuelUK founder, slammed oil companies this week, accusing them of making “huge profits - a direct result of exploiting global energy price insecurity, nefarious gambling on related commodity prices, taking advantage of a tax break brought on by Rishi Sunak, and their ruthless exploitation of drivers at the pumps".

He added: “Healthy profits are vital, but profiteering must be checked. It is clear that in the last three years the fuel supply chain has more than doubled its retail margins at the pumps.

Cox pointed the finger at “the big wholesalers and branded oil corporations” accusing them of “fleecing the UK economy, the world’s highest taxed drivers and making our cost of living even more dire".

He called for the government to take action to ensure pump pricing is “fair, honest and transparent”.

He added: “An independent consumer pricing watchdog, PumpWatch would be simple to implement and popular with voters.

“The billions of extra VAT from high pump prices, notably from the dishonest cost of diesel, that the Treasury continues to enjoy is clouding this government’s decision making, to act on behalf of consumers and alleviating the cost of living crisis.”

"Rishi Sunak must recognises that cutting fuel duty and creating PumpWatch is the quickest and most effective route to lowering inflation. But he sees diesel and petrol as pure cash cows to the Exchequer and not the popular and best way to stimulate growth. The whole nation needs low transport costs. Why the hell does our new PM not see that too?"