Drivers demand supermarkets cut price of petrol — after it emerges it’s 5p a litre cheaper in Northern Ireland

DRIVERS are demanding supermarkets cut the price of petrol — after it emerged it is 5p a litre cheaper in Northern Ireland.

Campaigners cheered a £3.40 drop in the cost of filling an average tank last month.

PA:Press Association

Drivers are demanding supermarkets cut the price of petrol — after it emerged it is 5p a litre cheaper in Northern Ireland[/caption]

But the RAC believes the big four store chains are still pocketing a 13p profit on every litre of fuel sold — more than double the amount in 2021.

Its analysis shows drivers are paying an average 140.5p but in Northern Ireland, where there is competition from the Republic, they are charged 135.3p.

The RAC’s Simon Williams said: “It’s surely impossible to argue competition is working properly if prices are so vastly different in two parts of the UK.

“And if an independent retailer in the middle of Shropshire can be undercutting the supermarkets by around 6p a litre, something has to be very badly wrong.

“We continue to call on the biggest retailers to play fair with drivers and lower their prices to match what’s being charged in Northern Ireland.”

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho is toughening the law to force retailers to publish prices as part of a Pumpwatch name-and-shame scheme.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is also under pressure to freeze fuel duty.

It follows another major victory for The Sun’s Keep It Down campaign to keep it frozen last year.