Two thirds of the cost of a litre of diesel goes to government, near figures released by the Treasury reveal.
Despite the fact that Britain is the biggest oil producer in the European Union, haulage operators are forking up to 30p a litre more than their counterparts in countries such as Romania and Bulgaria.
When the tax element is removed the UK has the second-cheapest diesel in Europe, just behind Bulgaria, at 36.5p a litre. However, the UK Treasury rakes in 70.4p in duty and tax.
The UK is one of only a handful of countries in the world that taxes diesel and petrol at the same rate because of the harm it does to the environment, according to a Treasury spokesman.
