David Cameron 'looking at fuel costs'

David Cameron has promised to look at ways of countering the effects of rising fuel costs.

The prime minister said that, with prices hitting £1.30 a litre, motorists were facing a "tough" time.

He told MPs the Treasury could "share" some of the extra taxes it will receive from higher oil prices.

Protesters handed a 120,000-signature petition to the government, calling for a planned 1p rise in fuel duty not to be imposed.

The change, due to take effect in April, comes on top of duty already costing 58.95p for every litre of petrol.

Motorists have already been confronted with a rise in the top rate of VAT from 17.5% to 20% and increased oil prices.

The FairFuel UK campaign's leader, TV presenter Quentin Willson, said: "These things have a way of overtaking governments. So they really have to grab this, deal with it, send out a message that they are going to control this and deal with it as quickly as they can, before you get all these splinter groups and blockading of refineries and go-slows on motorways, which we so do not want at the moment."

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said: "I know how tough it is for motorists, particularly for small businesses and families, when they are filling up at the pumps and it's over £1.30 a litre.

"We will look at the fact that extra revenue comes to the Treasury when there's a higher oil price and see if we can share some of that benefit with the motorist."