UK paying highest diesel prices in Europe - but Northern Ireland much cheaper

It found the average price of a litre of diesel at UK forecourts is 155p. However in Northern Ireland it is only 144.9p, which would rank it ninth out of the 29 countries listed.

The UK has Europe’s joint highest rate of duty on diesel - along with Italy - at 52.95p per litre.

However Italy’s average pump price is still 7p per litre cheaper than the UK, at 148p.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The average retailer margin on diesel – that’s the difference between the delivered wholesale price and the retail price before VAT – is 18p."

The average price of diesel should really be 145p if retailers were charging fairer prices, he added.

"It’s important to note that in Northern Ireland, where there is greater competition for fuel in the absence of supermarket dominance, the average price of diesel is just 144.9p – 10p less than the UK average, and petrol is 6p cheaper at 142.4p.”

AA Public Affairs spokesman Luke Bosdet said: "Many retailers admit that they mark up diesel at the pump to compensate for low margins from business contract or fuel card sales".

He said greater pump price transparency created by the new Government/Competition Markets Authority will make it much easier to direct drivers to cheaper diesel prices.

"NI is much further down that road than elsewhere in the UK, thanks to the Consumer Council Price Checker," he added.

Bulgaria had the second cheapest diesel at 116p, with Malta the cheapest at 103p.