Newspaper coverage of the fuel protests

We look at the national newspapers' coverage of and commentary on the protests against record fuel prices that took place on Wednesday 2 July.

The Daily Mirror

The Mirror described the protests as "non-disruptive" and referred to "hundreds of hauliers" being escorted through London. In the paper, Mike Wright, a Heathrow-based driver, said that "wildcat protests" might occur in the near future, adding: "It will not just be London affected. They will block every motorway in the country."

Although the Mirror emphasised the hauliers' plight at having to pay £1.32p/lit for diesel, it also stressed the prime minister's firm attitude: "Gordon Brown warned the credit crunch could scupper hopes of cuts in motoring taxes."

The Independent

The Independent also made mention of "hundreds of hauliers" being guided through central London and over Westminster Bridge by police motorcyclists, as well as of several hauliers going to lobby MPs in the Houses of Parliament. It portrayed the protests as "non-disruptive" and managed, adding: "A section of the busy London-bound A40 Westway road in west London was closed so lorries could park."

One driver was quoted as saying that diesel in Spain was recently just 84p/lit.

The Guardian

"The mood among some of the drivers on a generally good-natured protest was more militant as global oil prices topped $140 a barrel," was the overview from The Guardian's article. The protest brought sections of London to a "standstill" and "a section of the A40 in west London was turned into a car park by hauliers", it added. With respect to possible "wildcat protests", the Road Haulage Association (RHA) was quoted as saying that go-slows on busy UK motorways would be on the cards if the government does not freeze tax burdens on motorists.

The Guardian also mentioned the banner carried by the first lorry in the A40 queue, which read: "Heaven help us because the government won't."

The Sun

The Sun's article opened by stating that "more than 400 lorries converged on London". In the paper, Peter Carroll of fuel protest group TransAction highlighted the fact that spontaneous and unpredictable action was possible if chancellor Alistair Darling did not freeze the proposed 2p/lit fuel duty rise. Carroll said these wildcat actions were "not ideal" but completely comprehensible. The paper emphasised the haulage industry's anger at cabotage rules, quoting Carroll as saying: "Continental hauliers run in the UK using cheap fuel from aboard." It also claimed that, in contrast, British drivers were enduring a "struggle to survive."

Elsewhere in the paper, 60 truckers and 40 motorists were said to have participated in a go-slow protest on the A47 near Norwich on the same day.

The Times

The Times emphasised the anger of the protestors, making reference to sounding horns and banners reading "Stop crippling Britain". It put the number of lorries at 220, escorted by police in groups of 20, but claimed: "They did not bring the traffic disruption that some had feared - the numbers were lower than organisers had hoped."

One protester, Dick Cousins, referred to as a "veteran" of the fuel protests eight years ago, confirmed that returning to blockades was certainly an option: "People aren't going to waste their time for too much longer - and if they can't get their point across in a peaceful way, I can see refinery protests."