i went to Belgium recently, and noticed that, give or take a few cents, the price of petrol was pretty much the same as the UK. And diesel was the same price, too. Not the same price as in the UK, but the same price as the petrol on sale in Belgium.

Once again, it looks as if British motorists are being taken to the cleaners. Does not the government realise that motorists will embrace cleaner and greener fuels - in ths case, diesel - only if and when they are not asked to pay an unreasonable premium. As modern petrol engines become ever more fuel-efficient, the one-time fuel-consumption advantage of diesel is gradually being eroded, and with the present price differential, diesel-car drivers in many cases will now be out of pocket. What kind of incentive is that?

If we are to be a diesel nation, and collectively and substantially reduce our carbon footprint, the chancellor should see to it that motorists who are prepared in the first instance to pay the premium for diesel power demanded by most manufacturers are not hit with a double-whammy by paying over odds for fuel as well. The minor incentive offered by lower VED rates offers only minimal compensation for our behaving as responsible caretakers of this planet. In continuing to run our petrol cars it is not we who are being irresponsible, but the government.