Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, today said "concerted global action" was needed to bring down oil prices, rather than direct measures at the petrol pump.

The Chancellor told the Trades Union Congress annual meeting in Brighton that the Government understood the problems being faced by the nation's hauliers, farmers and motorists at a time when oil prices were doubling.

But producer nations should address the problem by raising production quotas and investing in finding new supplies, Mr Brown argued. He said that money generated by recent price increases should be going into freeing reserves and bringing prices back down.

"Because we will never be complacent, the first action we must take is to tackle the cause of the problem, ensuring concerted global action is taken to bring down world oil prices and stabilise the market for the long term," Mr Brown told delegates.

"Because this is, at root, a problem of demand outstripping supply, Opec must respond at its meeting on September 19 to rising demand by raising production."

Mr Brown blamed Opec's secrecy for recent spikes in oil prices.

"Lack of transparency about the world’s reserves and plans for their development undermines stability and causes speculation. The world must call on Opec to become more open and more transparent," he said.

"From the additional $300 billion a year in revenue, Opec countries are now enjoying and the additional $800 billion available to oil producers, there must be additional new investment in production and global investment in refining capacity."

The Chancellor's comments follow other European nations moving to help protect consumers from record-high oil prices. Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy have all announced emergency measures aimed at cutting fuel costs, while French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said he was considering a special tax to help the nation's farmers, taxi drivers and fishermen cope.

The high cost of oil was shown today to have pushed British inflation further away from the 2.0-per cent inflation target that the Bank of England is tasked to meet by the government. Annual inflation rose to a 2.4 per cent in August to remain at the highest level for eight years, increasing from 2.3 per cent in July.

Brown said the World Bank should set up a fund to support developing countries which were investing in alternative sources of energy and greater energy efficiency

He also asked that poor countries should never be left "defenceless" against oil and commodity prices. He hosts a meeting of European Union finance ministers this weekend.

"The International Monetary Fund should agree, as a matter of urgency, to create a new facility for countries hit by these shocks," he said.

"Because we have a special duty to help not just the immediate needs but the long term prospects of the poorest of the world, oil producers should now agree to use their windfall revenues to create a special trust fund where oil producers help debt-ridden poor countries right down their unpayable debts."

For more on the inflation report, click here

Full text of the Chancellor's speech here

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