Prime Minister Asks BP to Reduce Petrol Prices

Following BP's third quarter profits, United Kingdom's Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently talked about the increasing petrol prices in the country, asking oil companies to reduce prices as soon as possible. BP recently announced a profit of $10.5 billion in the last three months, a 148 percent improvement when compared to the same period of the last year.

Although it didn't address to BP directly, Gordon Brown criticized the British company for its high petrol prices, Times Online wrote in an article published today.

“I notice that some companies have brought their prices down and I encourage others to do so to reflect the fact that the price of oil is now below $60 (£37.68) when it used to be, for a few weeks, nearly $150. There has been more than a halving in the price of oil and, just as when the price goes up people see it immediately reflected in the petrol pump prices, we want to see the falling price reflected in the petrol pump prices, and we are determined to see that happens,” British Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

On the other hand, BP's officials defended the gas company, explaining that an important stake of the petrol price is represented by taxes, which obviously go to the government.

“BP is Britain's biggest taxpayer, handing more than £20 billion to the Exchequer in the last three years. At a time when the Government is running a massive deficit, that is a vital contribution to the national finances,” a BP spokesman told Times Online.