Hauliers drive fuel protest fight to Holyrood

Published on Monday 9 June 2008 22:08

A CONVOY of lorries will take to the streets of Edinburgh today in protest at the rising cost of fuel.

Up to 100 lorries are expected to converge on Edinburgh where they will drive a go-slow protest through the capital.

Many of the hauliers will start off in Glasgow before making their way along the M8 to meet up with others at Hermiston Gait and entering Edinburgh.

The convoy will head towards the city centre, travelling at 15mph, before parking in Regent Road.

Three lorries will then be escorted by police to the Scottish Parliament, where a letter will be handed to Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister .

The protest comes a fortnight after hundreds of lorry drivers took to the streets of London calling for a cut in fuel duty.

David McCutcheon, one of the organisers, said the rising cost of fuel had left many hauliers in a "dire" position.

He is managing director of Bothwell-based Bullet Express and said his company was having to pay an extra 125,000 a year for fuel.

"The government are enjoying a lot of extra revenue that they didn't account for due to the doubling of the price of oil," he said.

"They are raking all that extra cash in and at the same time we are suffering.

"We have to go out there to keep our businesses running and keep the country running."

And Mr McCutcheon predicted fuel protests could become a weekly occurrence.

Some haulage firms had already closed because of the high cost of fuel and others were likely to follow, he said.

Mr McCutcheon said the aim of the protest was not to cause "mass disruption" and pointed out the trucks would be travelling at normal speed on the motorway.

The convoy will set off from Strathclyde Park, Glasgow, at 9am. Organisers expect to arrive at Holyrood at about 11am.