Record petrol prices

Drivers were facing record petrol prices today as the cost of crude oil surged within cents of its highest level.

As the crisis in Iraq brought fears of shortages, the average price of a litre at the pumps pushed towards 84p.

Ministers and oil chiefs are drafting plans to cope with a new wave of fuel price protests, following the blockades four years ago which brought Britain to a halt.

Crude oil raced to $40.94 a barrel in today's trading, just short of the $41.15 record set during the first Gulf war in 1990. Leaders of the last fuel protests threatened to strike again unless Chancellor Gordon Brown calls off a 1.9p-a-litre tax rise due to take effect in September.

Welsh farmer Brynle Williams, who led demonstrations in 2000 and is now a Tory on the Welsh Assembly, called fresh demonstrations a "distinct possibility". David Handley, chairman of protest group Farmers For Action, claimed the outlook for hauliers was now "grimmer than 2000".

He said: "Should the Chancellor hold back on the increase then that would go a long way to appease my industry. If he doesn't listen to us then I can see a reaction taking place that will be just as serious as in September 2000."

The price of crude has been pushed higher by a combination of security fears over Iraqi supply and cuts in output by Opec members. Opec added to the woes overnight with an announcement that it had failed to reach agreement on a Saudi proposal to ease the price pressure by boosting output.

Leading government officials, industry experts, hauliers, council chiefs and the security services are expected to join tomorrow's strategy session, to be hosted by energy minister Stephen Timms at the Department of Trade and Industry.

The protests in 2000 shocked the Government by cutting fuel supplies from refineries to petrol stations.

There was panic as pumps ran dry, huge queues built up at the few filling stations left open and impromptu rationing was introduced. The Tories leapt ahead of Labour in the polls for a brief period, the first time since Tony Blair became Labour leader six years earlier that his authority had been threatened.

The protests ended within a few days after the Government offered concessions on the rate of future increases in petrol tax.