Gordon Brown calls for global action on oil price

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned yesterday that the world was facing an oil "shock" and would find there was no easy answer to price rises without coordinated global action.

Mr Brown, who saw hundreds of protesting British truck drivers cause road chaos in the capital on Tuesday as they demanded government help over rising fuel prices, said he understood the impact on families across the country, but only a comprehensive international strategy would work in bringing oil prices down.

"A global shock on this scale requires global solutions," Mr Brown wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

He pledged to put global action on oil price rises at the top of the agenda at the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Japan in July and promised to propose more international work on "a better dialogue on supply possibilities and trends in demand".

Mr Brown said in the long term, oil dependency had to be reduced and other sources of energy explored and exploited.

"If we are to ensure a better deal for consumers, energy security and lower greenhouse gas emissions, Britain, Europe and the world will have to change how we use energy and the type of energy we use," he wrote. "We need to accelerate the development and deployment of alternative sources of energy, reducing global dependence on oil."

His comments come a day after truckers from across Britain converged on London in a vast convoy, closing a busy artery and causing traffic chaos.

Similar protests took place in Wales, causing fresh trouble for Mr Brown, whose leadership is under pressure after poor showings in recent local elections and a parliamentary byelection.

This latest wave of fuel protests, which echo similar protests in 2000, began in France, where fishermen have blockaded ports to demand cheaper fuel.

French truckers have also threatened to take action across France if the government fails to respond to their demands that industry diesel prices should fall back to average levels seen in January this year.

Britain levies the highest fuel duty in the EU with nearly 65 per cent of the pump price of petrol due to tax.

Senior ministers offered gentle hints on Tuesday that Mr Brown and his chancellor Alistair Darling may be preparing to back down on plans to increase road tax on higher-polluting cars.

Environment Minister Phil Woolas said the government had "an open mind in the future" and Justice Secretary Jack Straw said Mr Brown and Mr Darling were "listening to public concerns".