By Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter
Published: 04:49 EDT, 9 March 2022 | Updated: 11:04 EDT, 10 March 2022
The price of fuel smashed through the £2-a-litre mark in London today as MailOnline revealed Russian tankers have been sent packing by UK dockers as the West waged an energy war with Putin that is costing Britons more every day.
Drivers are suffering 'unbelievable financial pain' as the cost of a tank of diesel for a Ford Focus hit £85 on Tuesday— up £1.50 in 24 hours - and a tank of unleaded is £81.01, and both could hit £90 in March. A large family car will now cost more than £100 to fill up and a gas-guzzling 4x4 Land Rover north of £165 per tank.
Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts on Tuesday was 158.2p, up from 156.4p on Monday. The average cost of a litre of diesel reached a new high of 165.2p on Tuesday, up from 162.3p on Monday. These are all record highs.
One petrol station in Chelsea is charging 219p-a-litre for diesel - a wallet-hammering £10-per-gallon - and more than 218.9p for unleaded. Prices of more than 190p are being seen outside the capital with queues forming at cheaper forecourts to beat the daily price hikes - not because of any shortages.
One Welsh filling station, the Moto Services at junction 47 of the M4 near Swansea, is already charging 192.9p for diesel as prices continue to soar. Pictures also showed 199.9p for diesel outside Norwich, 189.9p on the A23 near Brighton and 185.9p in Grays, Essex.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: 'The cost of filling a 55-litre family car with petrol is now £87 - £7 more than it was at the start of the year. Diesel drivers are even worse off with a tank now costing more than £90 for the first time ever — £8 more than in early January'.
As fuel prices rose at a rate of 5p per day, former Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick, 40, admitted that this crisis coupled with the cost of heating a home and rising food prices, it could be 'the most difficult economic year we've seen in my lifetime'.
But in a slight glimmer of hope, the price of a barrel of oil fell 5 per cent to $117 this afternoon, having spiked at $140 on Monday and settling at around $127 yesterday.
It dropped from 14-year highs earlier this week following suggestions from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that members will release 60 million barrels from stockpiles, mainly from the US, western Europe and Asia.
MailOnline has tracked seven ships carrying Russian oil, gas and diesel all turned away from the UK in the past week including several trying to use a loophole meaning they weren't technically covered by sanctions.
Dockers at the Isle of Grain in Kent, Milford Haven in Wales, Ellesmere Port on Merseyside and on the Isle of Orkney all refused to unload the fuel being sold by Putin's Russia to help pay for his invasion.
Instead the ships, some owned by Russian shipping companies and all carrying Russian fossil fuels, were diverted to ports in France, Belgium and Holland to unload. Two tankers are yet to find a port who will have them as the West's sanctions starts to bite.
The Unite union today backed the dockers. General secretary Sharon Graham said: 'I am very proud of Unite’s members taking a principled stand to prevent Russian oil coming to our ports.
'But it is appalling that they have been put in this position by the government, which is still dragging its feet on sanctions.'
One Ellesmere Port docker, who refused to off-load the Russian oil, told Mailonline: 'There's a war on.
'What the Russians are doing to the Ukrainians is disgusting.
'There was no way I was going to handle Russian oil. They should not be here.
'I support Ukraine not Russia.'
The EU relies on Russia for approaching half of its gas - much more than the UK - but today declared it would be slashing its use by two-thirds by the end of the year.
The Prime Minister is said to be considering using more oil and gas from domestic British sources, especially in the North Sea, while his Government is said to be looking at opening up the first new round of exploration licences since 2019.
Two UK fracking sites have also been granted a stay of execution, it was reported last night, amid a Tory rebellion over the government's continued ban. Ministers will reportedly consider using them for future research rather than concrete them up.
Last night Britain joined the US in boycotting oil that is believed to be earning the Kremlin $100billion-a-month and used to help fund the $15billion-a-day invasion of Ukraine.
There is growing pressure on Rishi Sunak to slash fuel duty as Ireland cut it by 20 per cent for petrol and 15 per cent for diesel.
Experts believe that the Russian oil, gas and diesel turned away in tankers from Britain could still end up in the UK because it could be put on a new ship or pumped under the Channel.
Laura Page, a LNG [liquefied natural gas] analyst at trade Kpler, a firm that tracks energy shipping, told MailOnline: 'The LNG has been put into storage at the import terminals. Once the LNG is in storage, it is impossible to track the molecules, but there are two options: The LNG can be regasified and sent out to the grid. Under this scenario, there is the potential for the gas to be shipped via pipeline to the UK.
'Alternatively, the LNG can be reloaded onto a non Russian linked vessel and shipped to the UK. There is no ban on Russian molecules at the moment, only the vessels itself'.
The price at the pumps is expected to rise after tankers, some carrying Russian diesel, were turned away from UK docks.
But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said he believes that Briton will think it is a price worth paying, adding: 'We need to stem the flow of Putin's gas and oil blood money from funding his war machine so I think it's right to cut off their oil'.
As the West tries to wean itself off Russia's oil and gas after years of warnings, it also emerged today:
The diesel pump was priced at 219.9p per litre at the Chelsea Cloisters Petrol Station in West London today. Unleaded was priced at 218.9 pence per litre, and super Unleaded was priced 235.9 pence per litre. At the Esso Petrol Station on Park Lane it was almost £2
Diesel is at 189.9 and 183.9 at Pease Pottage on the A23 near Brighton in West Sussex today
A garage just off the A1, near Peterborough (left), petrol prices in Glasgow today (centre), and almost £1.86 per litre in a BP Petrol Station in Grays Essex today
The queues at the Sainsbury Petrol station in Notting Hill today as people fill up before the price goes up again. It is not due to any shortages
Queues for petrol at Costco Watford today as prices rise again to record levels
Cars queue for fuel at Asda, Charlton. Petrol prices have risen by 30p per litre in the past 12 months
The gigantic liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker Boris Vilkitsky sails off the coast of Saint-Nazaire, France after being turned away from Britain
These are the seven ships sent packing by British dockers. Five unloaded in Europe - two are yet to find a home for their fuel
The price of a barrel of oil is spiking upwards and is expected to get worse as the US pushes for a global ban on buying Russian oil. There was a slight drop today amid claims that more oil would be released by the West
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Cyprus-flagged tankers Boris Vilkitsky and Fedor Litke were last week diverted from the Isle of Grain, the largest terminal in Europe for importing liquefied natural gas.
The Fedor Litke was forced to go to Belgium to unload on March 6 and is heading back to Yamal, Russia. Boris Vilkitsky diverted from Isle of Grain to western France on March 4 and is wow heading back to the Arctic.
Two other ships due in Kent at the end of February were also diverted. The Christophe de Margerie forced to unload at Rotterdam on March 6 and is back off to Russia. The Boris Davydov was diverted to Dunkirk and now heading back to Yamal.
Oil tanker Seacod, which sails under a German flag, left Primorsk on February 22 and arrived in Merseyside on March 3. Dockers refused to unload it and it moved on March 7, and now it appears to be heading to a European port.
Liberian-flagged Archelaos, carrying diesel, was en route to the Welsh port of Milford Haven and due to offload the cargo today having been filled with fuel at Primorsk in Russia. It was turned away and is heading to Antwerp. And Oil tanker NS Champion was due to unload on Orkney on February 28 but was asked not to. It is now off the Denmark coast.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps acknowledged that the ban on Russian oil imports could have a knock-on impact on consumers.
He told Sky News: 'We need to stem the flow of (Vladimir) Putin's gas and oil blood money from funding his war machine.
'I think that the British people - even though it will, of course, lead to some higher energy prices, although we've probably already seen that as they're happening already - the British people are not prepared to see us funding Putin's horrific war.
'And so I think it's very, very important that we take this step, we will step up our own production.
'And we're fortunate in the UK that we don't buy, proportionately, very much Russian oil and gas and we do also produce our own, so we'll step that up as well.'
He added: 'The Government, of course, has already knocked about £15 per tank for an average family car off the cost of fuel by freezing fuel duty for all of these years and for home energy announced a package which amounts to some £20 billion of different types of support for cost of living issues.'
Chancellor Rishi Sunak was last night urged to save homes and businesses from 'untold financial pain' by slashing petrol taxes amid spiralling prices due to the war in Ukraine.
Motoring groups and Tory MPs want the Chancellor to give drivers a reprieve amid warnings that the cost of filling up at some forecourts could surge beyond £100 within days.
It came as Russia's deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, claimed Western nations could send global oil prices soaring to $300 a barrel if they ban buying it from his country.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American and European allies were considering the move at the weekend. Russia is the world's third largest producer of oil.
Industry figures show oil at this price could cause pump prices to surge to a staggering 270p a litre for petrol and 300p for diesel.
Yesterday's data showed average fuel prices hit another new record on Monday – 156.37p a litre for unleaded and 162.28p for diesel.
But the pockets of drivers filling up on the motorway are being hit even harder.
Average pump prices on M-road service stations were 173.4p a litre for petrol and 176.66p for diesel, meaning filling up with unleaded is already £95 and more than £97 for diesel.
Filling the typical 55-litre tank in a family car at these forecourts could exceed £100 if petrol rises on average by another 8.6p a litre and diesel 5.3p. They have already climbed more than 5p and 7p respectively in little more than a week. Average pump prices have hit record highs virtually daily after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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Natasha Sivek carries her 2-month-old grandson Meron shortly after she and other family members, including her daughter, walked into Poland from war-torn Ukraine as the West declared economic war on Putin
Ukrainian artillery targeting Russian military trucks in Kozarovychi in the Kyiv Oblast
Russian troops stranded in the 40-mile long convoy of tanks and armoured vehicles stalled on the outskirts of Kyiv could face freezing to death in their vehicles this week as temperatures are set to plunge (Russian convoy pictured March 7 near Kyiv)
A pronounced cold snap in Eastern Europe will see temperatures drop to -10C overnight in the middle of the week around Kyiv and Kharkiv – down to -20C when wind chill is taken into account (an elderly woman is coated in snow as she sits in a wheelchair after being evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 8, 2022)
The Arctic temperatures are also expected to make life miserable for Ukrainian refugees attempting to flee from war torn cities (couple pictured during the evacuation of Irpin, March 8)
Civilians continue to flee from Irpin due to ongoing Russian attacks as snow falls in Irpin, Ukraine, March 8, 2022
Ukrainians cross an improvised path under a destroyed bridge while fleeing Irpin, in the outskirts of Kyiv, March 8, 2022
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced on Tuesday the UK will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year in a move matched by US President Joe Biden.
The moves were praised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who said they sent a 'powerful signal'.
But the RAC Foundation has warned petrol prices could rise to £1.60 a litre this week in the UK and £1.65 soon after, according to the BBC.
And Robert Buckley, an energy analyst at Cornwall Insight, told the BBC although UK ban was 'largely symbolic' because only 8% of its energy comes from Russia, it would likely combine with other factors and push up prices.
A 19-year-old member of the Queen's Guard (left and right), whose identity has not been revealed for security reasons, dropped his ceremonial duties as a Coldstream Guardsman and signed up for Ukraine's International Legion of foreign volunteer fighters
Four British soldiers including a teenager paid to protect the Queen are feared to have gone AWOL to fight Vladimir Putin's invading forces after booking a one-way ticket to Ukraine.
A 19-year-old member of the Coldstream Guards regiment, reportedly dropped his ceremonial duties as one of the prestigious Queen's Guards in Windsor and signed up for Ukraine's International Legion of foreign volunteer fighters.
The shock development has sparked panic at the Ministry of Defence, with security chiefs racing to intercept the teenager in case Russia tries to claim that Britain has entered the war if active army soldiers are found fighting on the frontlines.
The soldier reportedly wrote to his parents before booking a one-way ticket to Poland over the weekend with an intention to then cross the border into Ukraine. He has since posted a photo of his boots on Snapchat, according to The Sun.
He is feared to be among four British soldiers who have fled the country for the warzone, sparking panic in the British Army that Russia could use it as a chance to begin World War Three.
Around 150 British Army veterans who fought in Afghanistan have already signed up to support Ukraine's troops after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss declared she would 'absolutely support' those who wished to sign up to fight as part of the Ukrainian armed forces.
'This is a global market and you've got to replace that displaced supply somehow,' Mr Buckley told the broadcaster.
'At the margin, this decision will act to support oil prices which are already extremely high.'
Nathan Piper, an analyst at Investec, told the BBC the EU's decision to reduce its reliance on Russian gas could impact the UK.
Boris Johnson suggested diesel prices could rise further in Britain after the announcement, with prices at the pumps already having soared following Moscow's attack on Kyiv.
But the Prime Minister said the UK was 'less exposed' than some European nations when it came to restricting Russian oil - the European Union imports more than a quarter of its oil from Russia.
But Conservative MP and former Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick told BBC Newsnight it could be 'the most difficult economic year we've seen in my lifetime'.
Speaking to broadcasters in London, Mr Johnson accepted the decision to target Moscow's oil would not hit the Kremlin's regime immediately, with Ukraine continuing to face assault, but said it would add to the 'extreme' sanctions already levied.
The UK imported goods from Russia worth a total of £10.3 billion in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.
This was the equivalent of 2% of the total value of all imported goods from around the world.
No UK petrol demand comes from Russia, nor heating or fuel oil but 18% of the total demand for diesel comes from Russia, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Ministers were considering steps that could lead to a fracking rethink in the UK after committing to phasing out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year.
Amid concerns over soaring energy costs, it was understood two Cuadrilla sites in Lancashire may be handed over to the Royal Geographical Society rather than being concreted over.
British households face being worse off by more than £2,500 each this year as the Russian invasion of Ukraine sends energy bills soaring and hammers the economy.
Families will see a £71billion fall in their living standards, according to gloomy analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) as rocketing prices wipe out the effect of any pay rises.
The 4.8 per cent slump in disposable incomes, equal to £2,553 per household, would be the worst since records began in 1955.
And the war would cause living standards to slip by another £1,043 per household in 2023, when the UK economy is forecast to go into recession.
Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and the West's sanctions on Moscow, have sent shockwaves through the global economy and caused energy prices to spiral.
The effects have put even more pressure on inflation – the rise in the cost of living – which had already hit a 30-year high of 5.5 per cent in January.
The Bank of England was expecting inflation to peak at 7.25 per cent in April – but economists now think it could hit 8.7 per cent.
That would be the sharpest rise in the cost of living since May 1982. And the CEBR thinks it could remain above 7 per cent into 2023.
Several plastic petrol cans totalling in excess of 40 litres are filled up and stored inside the rear of a hatchback car at Tesco filling station at Brent Cross yesterday
One man was filling of fuel bottles and jerry cans in his boot in Cambridgeshire
The eyewatering rise in petrol prices, which will peak even higher in 2022
Sources of UK crude oil imports to Britain in 2020 (thousands tonnes) according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Sources of UK crude oil imports in 2020 (thousands tonnes) according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Sources of UK petroleum product imports in 2020 (thousands tonnes) according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
It has also halved its forecasts for economic growth this year from 4.2 per cent to 1.9 per cent, which would wipe £51.4billion off the UK's potential gains. Forecasts for next year have been revised down, too, from 2 per cent to zero per cent, shaving off another £42.5billion.
The CEBR believes the economy will shrink for three-quarters of 2023, tipping the UK into recession. Its deputy chairman Douglas McWilliams said: 'Life is going to be tough for us as a result of the Russian invasion.
'The economy will effectively be on a partial wartime footing as we reduce our dependence on Russian oil and we work with Europe to reduce dependence on Russian gas.' Britain has already imposed sanctions on Russian businesses and wealthy individuals connected to President Putin.
This has led to sharp rises in the price of basics such as bread and wheat, with Russia and Ukraine producing more than a quarter of the world's wheat exports between them.
Even without further restrictions on energy, Western nations are trying to buy less fuel from Putin's regime, according to consultancy Capital Economics.
The last recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinking economic output – was seen during the depths of the pandemic in 2020.
Any new recession would cause a further headache for Chancellor Rishi Sunak, coming just as Britain had recovered to pre-Covid levels.
It could mean his plans to balance the books, and bring borrowing back in line with spending, go out of the window as he is forced to spend more on helping struggling families and firms.
Mr McWilliams said the Chancellor – who is due to unveil his Spring Statement on March 23 – would almost certainly have to step in with support, coming 'under further pressure to put the economy on a semi-wartime setting'.
Tom Keatinge, a director at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, said: 'We're not going to be able to put the sanctions that we're putting on Russia without creating self-harm.'
Stop saying there are long forecourt queues! There...
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