Transport Secretary: Diesel taxes could be hiked to cut air pollution

Now Mr McLoughlin’s comments suggest that diesel drivers could in fact be charged more for their vehicle in tax.

Asked about air pollution and the impact of diesel engines the Transport Secretary told the London Evening Standard: “We have got to look at that. It is something the Chancellor will need to look at in due course.”

He added: “It’s something that we’ve got to address. We are addressing it through the Government’s air quality strategy.”

Air pollution kills over 40,000 people prematurely in the UK every year, a report by the Royal College of Physicians found earlier this year.

The report blamed the increase from a previous estimate of 29,000 early deaths on the popularity of diesel cars, which were encouraged by Government as a way to reduce carbon emissions.

Gordon Brown, the former Labour chancellor, cut low-sulphur diesel duty by 3p in his 2001 Budget in a bid to cut carbon emissions by encouraging motorists to drive diesel cars.

Any decision to increase fuel duty again would be made by George Osborne, the Chancellor, in a future Budget.

However, there has been increasing concern about tax breaks on diesel fuel since the VW emissions scandal last year, which revealed that low emission diesel engines had been reprogrammed to fool tests and make readings look better.

Tests by the Department for Transport found that diesel vehicles sold in the UK churn out six times more than the legal limit for nitrogen oxide under real-world driving conditions.

Mr McLoughlin said it had been a “mistake” for Mr Brown to cut the duty on diesel and warned the decision has had a perverse impact on the environment.

The idea of raising tax on diesel has widespread support from other politicians, including Labour, and shadow energy minister Barry Gardiner who admitted last year: “Hands up – there’s absolutely no question that the decision we took was the wrong decision.”

Former science minister Lord Drayson said the vehicles are “literally killing people” because they emit four times as much nitrogen oxide and up to 20 times as many particulates, which can damage the lungs, heart and brain.

Mr McLoughlin also highlighted figures who show that sales of diesel cars in the UK rose 138 per cent in under ten years, increasing harmful levels of chemicals associated with the fuel thanks to Mr Brown’s decision to cut tax.

The Transport Secretary added that Mr Brown “thought they were doing the right thing” to cut carbon emissions, but had not foreseen the increase in other harmful chemicals associated with the fuel.

In addition to this duty cut Mr Brown also revealed a scheme to encourage companies to switch to diesel cars instead of petrol, which contributed to the rise in dangerous emissions.

Treasury sources last night played down Mr McLoughlin’s comments regarding a future increase in tax.

But the Road Haulage Association warned that the UK already has the highest levels of diesel duty in the EU and said any increase would hit businesses.

Jack Semple, director of policy at the association, told The Telegraph: “Ratcheting up fuel duty means we will see even more foreign lorries on our roads and the Chancellor will reduce his revenue from British lorries because foreign lorries don’t buy any fuel in this country because it is so expensive.”

Mr McLoughlin is understood to have been referring both to fuel duty cuts and vehicle excise duty changes made by Mr Brown when he suggested that the measures could be looked at again in order to cut emissions. 

The former Chancellor made changes to VED to make it more attractive to own low-carbon vehicles when Labour was in Government.