Transport minister Keir Mather reassured Britain’s supply of diesel is stable despite recent price hikes, reaching a record £2 per litre for the first time. The US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent urged European countries to use their fuel reserves amid soaring prices due to disruptions from conflicts involving Iran and Russia. The UK imports nearly 55% of its diesel, with the US supplying almost a third of that amount. Mather emphasized the resilience built into Britain’s system for importing diesel but acknowledged the financial strain on households and businesses due to higher costs.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Transport minister Keir Mather said Britain’s supply of diesel was “robust” and “resilient” and the country had a wide range of sources.
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country → say → sources
Britain joined crisis talks with Brussels on Thursday, as they discussed whether to release fuel stocks amid rocketing prices.
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they → join → prices
The price of a litre of diesel reached a record £2 in the UK for the first time, according to figures from the RAC.
uncertain
price → reach → RAC
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said European countries should “immediately” begin to use their reserves.
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countries → say → reserves
Diesel prices have soared in recent months because of the disruption to global supplies caused by the US-Israel war against Iran and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
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prices → soar → Russia
The UK imports nearly 55% of its diesel.
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UK → import → diesel
The US provides nearly a third of that amount.
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US → provide → amount
“We have resilience built into our system for that reason.
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We → have → reason
“We are working very closely with our US counterparts to stress the importance of that relationship, and the importance of sustaining flows of diesel around the world, but also working through international fora in the International Energy Agency and partners in Europe from whom we get a proportion of our diesel imports as well.”
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we → work → imports
He added: “Although prices have gone up at the pump, the Government is aware of that and the freeze in fuel duty is still in place.
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freeze → add → place
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“People shouldn’t be concerned about shortages because of the inherent resilience that is built into that system.”
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that → read → system
The average price of a litre of diesel in the UK hit a record high of 200.01p on Friday, according to figures compiled by the RAC.
uncertain
price → hit → RAC
The RAC’s head of policy Simon Williams said the price rises are showing “no signs” of slowing down.
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rises → say → signs
He said: “The cost of filling up an average family car is now £110, almost £32 more than it was at the start of the US and Iran war.
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it → say → war
“This will be very challenging for households and companies that drive a lot of miles, from commuters, haulage and delivery firms, businesses with large fleets all the way through to sole traders.
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that → drive → traders
“In a cruel twist, it’s diesel vehicles, which were once considered the most cost-effective option for lengthy journeys, that are now burning a hole in people’s pockets.”
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that → ’ → pockets
The UK, as a member of the International Energy Agency, is required to keep oil stocks equal to at least 90 days of net oil imports in reserve.
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UK → require → reserve
It is thought these can be used to respond to severe supply disruptions in the global market.
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these → think → market
Mr Trump has said he was “thinking” about introducing a ban on exports of US diesel.
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he → say → diesel
This would force Britain to compete with other countries for an alternative.
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This → force → alternative
In a post on X on Thursday, Mr Bessent said: “Our European partners should accelerate delivery on their existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to address ongoing disruptions.
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supplies → say → disruptions
“American farmers, truckers, and businesses should not be left carrying the burden of a global diesel shortage.
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farmers → leave → shortage
America is doing its part.
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America → do → part
“We look to our allies to match their commitments with action.”
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We → look → action
EU member states will meet the European Commission on Friday to discuss the issue.
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states → meet → issue
Mr Mather was asked by Nick Ferrari on LBC whether he agreed with Mr Trump about Europe using their diesel reserves.
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Europe → ask → reserves
He said: “We’re working closely with our European partners on diesel supply.
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We → say → supply
It means we’re continuing those discussions about how we retain our resilience and robustness of our supply chains.
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we → mean → chains
“President Trump is welcome to make those comments, we’ve got to focus here at home about ensuring that we have diversity of supply into our economy.
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we → make → economy
“Our European partners are absolutely central to that, particularly the flows of diesel coming through the Netherlands.”
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partners → come → Netherlands
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