Pressure on petrol duty

The Chancellor is committed to increasing duty on petrol in his Budget on 17 March by around 6 per cent in real terms, which could add around 27p to a gallon of unleaded petrol.

But Gordon Brown is being urged to take tougher measures to curb car use as part of a package of "green taxes". The Chancellor is under pressure from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution to raise petrol duty by at least 9 per cent above inflation, adding 37p to a gallon of unleaded petrol.

The Commission's report last September called for a "concerted campaign to change public attitudes to cars" and measures to double the price of motor fuel in real terms by 2005.

The Chancellor is also expected to raise the road tax by pounds 5 to pounds 155.