Boris Johnson to beg oil-rich Gulf for fuel as pressure grows on Rishi Sunak to cut duty

BORIS Johnson will jet to the Gulf to beg oil-rich kingdoms to turn on the taps — as hopes soar Rishi Sunak will slash fuel duty.

The PM and Chancellor are eyeing a two-pronged approach to solving the crisis after forecourt prices hit another record of 163.5p a litre for petrol and 173.4p for diesel.

Mr Johnson will urge desert rulers to increase crude production to drive down the global price.

And Tory MPs are increasingly confident Mr Sunak will take “at least a couple of pennies” off fuel duty in his spring statement.

A cut next week would be a huge win for The Sun’s Keep It Down campaign that has kept the hated 57.95p levy frozen for 12 years.

Experts warned prices could hit £2.40 and £3 a litre this year due to the Ukraine war, heaping pressure on the Government to step in.

MPs were told that the price of crude oil may go up by another 50 per cent as the West cuts off Putin and looks elsewhere for supplies.

Yesterday France became the latest country to slash fuel taxes, announcing a rebate to help hard-up motorists with soaring costs.

They followed Ireland and Portugal by slashing 0.15 euros off a litre for the next four months.

Nathan Piper, head of Oil and Gas at Investec, told the Treasury Committee: “For consumers in 2022, get ready for what will be continued increases in fuel prices — it’s going to rise up a lot before demand kicks in. Not to be flippant, but. . . pick a number.”

In a sign of movement, a Treasury source said: “We keep all taxes under review.” Any cut in duty is likely to be paid for by massive increases in VAT on high fuel prices.

Meanwhile Mr Johnson will this week hold his nose over human rights abuses and beg Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to increase production in their backyards.

The price of crude oil dropped slightly yesterday, but cutting off Russian supplies in the wake of the war risks months of volatility.

An increase in Gulf production would help drive the global price down, but last night campaigners accused the PM of “trading oil for blood” after the Saudis executed 81 at the weekend.

Mr Johnson is preparing to visit the capital Riyadh to see controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the hope his kingdom will make up for a reduced reliance on Russia.

But angry Tory Crispin Blunt warned Mr Johnson will face “exquisite difficulties” given he will arrive just days after a massive round of executions.

Mr Blunt also begged Mr Johnson to make clear Britain’s concerns.

The row came as a new Energy Security Strategy promised by the PM “within days” was delayed.

The plan, which will hike nuclear power and could even restart fracking, will now be published “this month”, No10 said.

Mr Johnson may give a major speech on energy as early as the Tory spring conference, which will be held in Blackpool this weekend.

Old coal power stations could stay open for longer in a scramble to buy time before opening new nuclear sites.

But any extension would not be for long — as ministers have pledged to close all of them completely by October 2024 as part of efforts to go greener.