LONDON Britain's finance minister was reported Wednesday to have held secret talks' with truck drivers following their protests about high fuel taxes that led to a widespread shortage of petrol in the UK last month.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown met representatives of the Road Haulage Association in the northern English city of Leeds last Friday, according to UK media reports.
The talks come as truck drivers and farmers are threatening to resume their blockade of refineries and fuel distribution depots if the government does not act to bring down the price of petrol by November 13.
The BBC said that Brown was eager to discuss measures, which may appease the protestors, but suggested that a cut in UK fuel tax, which is the highest in Europe, was unlikely.
The government is considering helping hauliers to replace old vehicles with newer, more fuel efficient trucks, it said, but added that hauliers are also complaining about unfair competition rules, where some drivers from Eastern Europe are paying no road tax.
The chancellor is due to make a pre-budget statement on October 31, and according to the Financial Times, the meeting paves the way for Brown to announce measures to prevent hauliers and farmers from repeating their protests.
The daily also suggested that Brown was resisting fuel tax cuts, which would benefit all drivers, but that other ministers, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, was likely to urge him to do more for motorists.
(IRNA)