Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK MPs Call For Fuel Pricing Watchdog

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and UK Hauliers has called for the introduction of an Independent Pump Price Monitoring Body, to check the “chronic opportunistic profiteering in the vehicle fuel supply chain.”

Pump prices have been on average 4 to 6p higher than necessary since the beginning of October, the APPG noted in a statement. This has generated at the very minimum, £600 million extra profit for the fuel supply chain and a VAT bonanza to the Treasury of an added £100mn, it added.


“Drivers need reassurance that they are not paying way over the odds for fuel. In rural communities where public transport is poor and unreliable, people need their vehicles to get from A to B. It is essential that they pay the fairest price. That is where a price monitoring system would support them,” said Kirstene Hair, MP for Angus and Fair Fuel APPG’s Chair.

The APPG has supported a Government ePetition initiated by the lobbying group FairFuelUK demanding a vehicle fuel pricing consumer watchdog, called PumpWatch.

Howard Cox, FairFuelUK founder and secretary to the APPG said, “there is no consistency, logic or clarity to the way pump prices are calculated. It remains a closely guarded secret in the fuel supply chain. If it wasn’t for the welcome supermarkets’ forecourt price cuts, always lead by consumer’s champion ASDA, prices at the pumps would hardly fall at all.”

“If gas, electricity, water and telecoms get price protection bodies, why shouldn’t motorists have one too? We need ‘PumpWatch’ now, to ensure pricing fairness for both consumers and hardworking fuel retailers too. Most of the profiteering is at a wholesale level not by small independent retailers, who also fall victims of the greedy fuel supply chain.”

In a survey of 71,000 road users carried out in September 2018, three out of four respondents said that they believe the big oil companies operate a pump pricing cartel, the group claimed.

More For You

UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Trump shakes hands with Modi during a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Key issues in India, US trade talks

TRADE talks between India and the US have hit a roadblock over disagreements on duties for auto components, steel and farm goods, Indian government sources said to Reuters, dashing hopes of reaching an interim deal ahead of president Donald Trump's July 9 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs.

Here are the key issues at play:

Keep ReadingShow less
Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources, which is based in the UK and owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has been working on reducing its debt. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources signs £438 million refinancing deal

VEDANTA LTD said on Thursday that its parent company, Vedanta Resources, has signed a loan facility agreement worth up to £438 million with international banks to refinance existing debt.

The refinancing move, where old loans are replaced by new ones, often at better terms like lower interest rates, has led ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings and Moody's to upgrade their outlook on the company this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump-Getty

Trump said that while deals are being made with some countries, others may face tariffs.

Getty Images

Trump says major trade deal with India may be finalised soon

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday said a "very big" trade deal could be finalised with India, suggesting significant movement in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India. Very big one. Where we're going to open up India," Trump said at the “Big Beautiful Bill” event at the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asda suffers nearly £600m loss as debt and IT costs surge

Asda co-ownerMohsin Issa. (Photo: Asda)

Asda suffers nearly £600m loss as debt and IT costs surge

ASDA, one of Britain’s largest supermarkets, has reported a pre-tax loss of £599 million for 2024, swinging sharply from a £180 million profit the previous year.

The loss comes despite total sales rising by over £1 billion to £26.8bn, as the retailer faces mounting debt costs, falling sales, and spiralling spending on a major IT overhaul, the Telegraph reported.

Keep ReadingShow less