Pressure was mounting yesterday on the Chancellor to abandon his plans to raise fuel duty in April.

With motorists facing average petrol prices of 104.8p per litre, Alistair Darling was being urged to scrap his proposed 2p per litre increase.

Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm, claimed that the Government could afford to forgo the increase because a surge in the price of crude oil had delivered extra revenue. It said that the Treasury had received £1.2 billion more from North Sea oil operators than was forecast in the Pre-Budget Report last October. Mr Darling, who increased duty by 2p per litre in the autumn, is planning another increase in 2009.

Grant Thornton and motoring and business organisations, such as the AA, Chambers of Commerce and Freight Transport Association, said a rise would “generate further difficulties for the transport and forecourt industries, business drivers and for businesses or individuals in remote areas with no alternative transport options”.

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