Why Britain's petrol costs so much

MOST of the blame for Britain's high petrol prices lies with Chancellor Gordon Brown, not the oil companies, a survey reveals today.

New figures breaking down the price of a typical litre of petrol show how duties and VAT outweigh the cost of the oil by more than two-to-one - even after the latest panic on energy markets.

The survey, from City oil analysts Wood Mackenzie, also shows how market gyrations have only a relatively small impact on the total cost of filling up a car.

A $2 rise in the price of a barrel of oil - roughly the scale of the increase since the weekend - translates to an increase of 1p a litre at the pumps.

By contrast, the Chancellor claims around 59.4p per litre in excise duty and VAT - the most taken by any finance minister in western Europe. He is due to raise petrol duty by a further 2p in September.

Before taxes, Britain has the cheapest petrol in western Europe, largely because of a highly-competitive petrol retail market.

Petrol companies say they need to make a profit of around 6p a litre to cover forecourt costs.