Monday May 10, 03:04 PM
Farmers start fuel protests
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain faces a repeat of the nationwide protests that halted fuel deliveries in September 2000 unless the government acts to bring down petrol and diesel prices, according to militant farm group leader David Handley.
Handley, one of the organisers of a blockade of oil refineries and depots in 2000, said his Farmers for Action (FFA) group had begun a protest over rising fuel costs outside the offices of British oil major BP.
“We’ve already helped start a protest this morning at BP’s offices in Milton Keynes. It may be small and localised, but it’s a start,” Handley told Reuters on Monday
"We’re having intensive meetings with hauliers, members of the general public and motoring organisations around the country.
“Unless the government steps in and does something to stop this profiteering, I think you can safely say that action is going to happen,” Handley said.
World crude prices touched $40 a barrel on Friday, their highest since late 1990, on worries about the impact of Middle East violence on oil supply.
The average UK price of unleaded petrol climbed above 80 pence per litre last week, around the same level that triggered the demonstrations in 2000.
And I thought good for them
