Petrol prices to reach record high

Petrol prices could reach a record high of £1.20 a litre in the next few weeks – and that's before the Government adds 3p in fuel duty and VAT onto the cost.

The AA says the combination of a 17% rise in the wholesale price of petrol and the relative weakness of the pound will push the price at the pumps beyond the July 2008 record, despite the fact that the current oil price is well below the $147-a-barrel high experienced that summer.

The nation's largest motoring organisation is calling for an investigation into the sudden surge, which it blames on a lack of refining capacity, and implored the Chancellor to freeze the fuel duty increase scheduled for April 1st.