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UK petrol retailers deny price gouging accusations
Petrol retailers have pulled out of a planned meeting with the government, after accusing ministers of using "inflammatory language" that may have contributed to staff being abused by the public.
The price of oil has surged since the Iran war began and has led to higher fuel prices at forecourts, prompting some to suggest price gouging was taking place.
Earlier on Friday, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC the government would "not tolerate" profiteering from the conflict and said the competition watchdog was primed to step in to stop "rip-offs".
The Petrol Retailers Association withdrew from Friday's meeting after it did not receive reassurance that it would be held in private.
The meeting had been scheduled with Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Miliband, where they had been expected to tell the industry that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was on "high alert" for any unjustifiable price rises.
But in a statement, Gordon Balmer, executive director of the PRA, said: "Recently I have heard of incidents from some of our members of retail staff being abused by members of the public, who may have been provoked by the incorrect and inflammatory language emanating from some commentators, for example, use of the terms 'rip offs' and 'profiteering'."
He said his members were working hard in difficult circumstances to make sure that people were getting "the fuel they need, at prices that are very competitive".
Balmer added they were working closely with the CMA and the government to put in place the "Fuel Finder scheme" that will help motorists find the best value petrol and diesel.
"There is clearly still a lot of work to do to help politicians and commentators to understand how the fuel market works and our door is always open for constructive dialogue," he said.
The government is under pressure to take action in both the short and long term on the threat of rising energy bills, as the effective embargo in the Straits of Hormuz, a crucial channel for energy supplies, continues.
Some energy companies and industrialists have argued that the response to the current oil price shock should be to allow further exploration and production in the North Sea.
However, in an interview with the BBC, Miliband said that the "right answer" for energy security as well as for tackling climate change was the government's current strategy, to continue to produce oil and gas from currently operating fields, but not to permit new ones.
"New exploration licences in the North Sea, which some people are calling for, will not take a penny off people's bills," he said.
He also pushed back against calls to change tack on net zero, arguing the UK needed to get off the "fossil fuel rollercoaster".
We've got to have clean, homegrown power that we control," he said. "That's the biggest long-term lesson of this crisis.
Miliband is launching a fast-track process for the building of new nuclear power stations, which in the past have been beset with delays, spiralling costs and red tape.
There have been calls for more immediate action on rising petrol and heating oil prices.
Earlier in the week the chancellor highlighted a variation in petrol prices between £1.27 per litre and £1.80 per litre on different forecourts.
Petrol retailers have said the price discrepancy is because some forecourts buy oil in bulk weeks in advance, meaning the surging oil price has not fed through to the pump yet, while others buy oil at the daily price, meaning the price is quickly feeding through.
Meanwhile, heating oil costumers have told the BBC their bills have more than doubled.
Miliband said he and the chancellor were "really concerned" over what was happening in some parts of the market and had met the CMA earlier in the week to discuss heating oil and motor fuels specifically.
Households that use heating oil are mostly in rural areas not connected to the gas network.
Two thirds of households in Northern Ireland use heating oil, but only a minority of homes in England, Wales, and Scotland do.
There is no cap to limit the cost of heating oil in the way households benefit from regulator Ofgem's price cap on gas and electricity bills.
Milliband said the CMA are "looking at the situation carefully", adding that the watchdog is "willing to intervene".
"We will not tolerate unfair practices, price gouging," he said.
The CMA has a range of powers including fines they can impose on firms.
It'd be completely unacceptable for anyone to use this crisis, to rip people off," Miliband said. "And we will fight people's corner to stop that happening.
However, whether the government took further steps to support households would depend on how long the conflict lasted, he added.
He emphasised that the chancellor had previously shown a "willingness to intervene", a reference to moves in November's Budget to ease energy bills, with additional money targeted at vulnerable households.
Fuel duty, which is currently frozen, is set to rise in September. That was now under review, Miliband confirmed.
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said Reeves "could cancel the fuel duty rise, she could cut the taxes piled on to energy, she could stop piling costs on to the price of fuel - but she isn't doing anything because she doesn't have the backbone".
"A 5p-per-litre duty increase at the pump will hit commuters, families, and small businesses already under pressure from the cost of living and Labour's tax hikes," he added.
"The latest developments in the Middle East make it even more important that the chancellor thinks again," Holden said.
Source: BBC
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