Hundreds of truck drivers are converging on the British parliament to protest the sharp rise in fuel prices.
Police
cleared a section of a main highway into London Wednesday, to
provide protesting truckers with a staging area. Officers then began
escorting truck convoys to outside the Houses of Parliament, where they
were joined by supporters.
The drivers want the government to
scrap plans to raise fuel taxes by four cents a liter in October, and
also arrange for a 50-cent cut per liter in the cost of fuel.
Trucker
unions say British trucking companies can not compete against rivals in
continental Europe, where fuel tariffs are lower. Drivers say their
fuel costs have risen 20 percent so far this year.
Today's protest is the third in and near London in recent weeks.
Rising
fuel costs have sparked protests across much of Europe and Asia in
recent months. Several hundred truckers jammed London roadways in May,
in a similar protest.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
