Highway robbery! UK’s costliest diesel soars to 157p a litre

DRIVERS are being sold the most expensive fuel ever recorded in Scotland.

A garage at a motorway service station in Kinross is selling diesel for an eye-watering 156.9p per litre, or £7.13 per gallon.

Motorists filling up at the BP garage, off the M90, are also being forced to pay 151.9p for a litre – £6.90 a gallon – of unleaded petrol, almost 20p a litre more than the average cost elsewhere in the country.

The exorbitant costs are revealed as the UK sees a steady, six-month rise in prices, with the average cost in Scotland now between 132.7p a litre, or £6.03 a gallon, for standard unleaded and 134.9p a litre, or £6.12 a gallon, for diesel.

Experts say the rise is due to oil traders cashing in on the easing of lockdown restrictions and people travelling more – with costs set to rise even further due to higher levels of fuel consumption.

A Scottish Mail on Sunday investigation reveals the wide-ranging prices of fuel up and down Scotland – with urban prices noticeably lower than rural prices.

Luke Bosdet, fuel price spokesman for the AA, said: ‘The reason for the surge in pump prices has been the soaring price of oil.

‘With vaccines and a path out of the global coronavirus economic slump, a rebound will lead to a return in oil demand. The price of oil has jumped from $40 a barrel since late 2020 to $75 this summer.

‘The pandemic sent it plummeting, and the vaccines, with the promise of economic recovery and therefore increased oil demand, have sent it soaring.’

However, drivers’ groups have said the rising costs are ‘highway robbery’. Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign said: ‘At £1.56, this merciless garage is making a jaw-dropping £18 profit on every family diesel car.

‘This Kinross forecourt has reached new lows in highway robbery and should be censured by all drivers.’

Last week the Scottish Mail on Sunday found the price of petrol fluctuating from as little as 128.7p a litre – £5.85 a gallon – at a Morrisons in Alloa and 129.9p – £5.90 per gallon – at a Morrisons in Stirling.

However, in the Black Isle, in the Highlands, petrol and diesel were both 134.9p a litre – £6.13 a gallon – with the cost creeping up to 135.9p for a litre – £6.17 a gallon – of standard unleaded and 136.9p a litre – or £6.22 a gallon – for diesel at a BP in Inverness.

Fuel retailers at Hawick and Jedburgh, in the Borders, were charging 132.9p and 135.9p – £6.04 and £6.17 per gallon – respectively for unleaded petrol.

BP confirmed it supplies the forecourt in Kinross with fuel and branding but said prices are decided at the site, operated by Moto. Ken McMeikan, chief executive of Moto, said: ‘We are absolutely committed to providing great value for our customers and have been trialling lower fuel prices at three of our service areas − Lancaster on the M6, Toddington on the M1 and Frankley on the M5.

‘Based on the success of the trial so far, we are extending the trial to Kinross from the beginning of August, and customers will see a reduction of at least 15p per litre, bringing fuel prices into line with high street forecourts.’

‘This forecourt has reached new lows’