For anyone coming to the UK now or in the near future - it's time to re-think your budget if you are hiring a car. Because of the uncertainty in Iraq and production cuts by OPEC, petrol prices are rising rapidly over here.

At the last count the cheapest petrol was 78.9p per litre, which equates to £3.59 or $6.21 per gallon. At the other end of the scale, the dearest was at a garage in Chelsea in London at 96.9p per litre, a mind-boggling £4.40 or $7.62 per gallon.

Be warned, the natives are getting restless and there is talk of further fuel protests, with blockades of the oil refineries and slow-moving convoys on the roads.

As a matter of interest, how high would fuel prices have to go in other countries to trigger civil unrest?

We don;t go in much for organized civil unrest. But the last time we had a gas crisis there were numerous assults and several shootings - of one patron by another for cutting in line of people waiting at the pumps.

Our gas is now up to $2 per gallon and the outcry is tremendous - some people are even starting to think about turning in their SUVs for something that gets more than about 8 miles per gallon.

Wow, good thing I am renting a mini! We have sticker shock over here too! Glad I don't own a gas hog ;-)

I think you are being rather overdramtic here.

I agree our fuel prices are now ridiculously high, but for a tourist who might hire a car for a couple of weeks, during which time they might spend £100 (heavy driving in an average car) on petrol, the price increase may add £10.00 (max) to this budget. For the tourist, this price hike is really rather insignificcant!

For UK citizens, the tax on petrol is now far too high - somewhere around 80%! Time to remove President Blair, hopefully he'll fall out of office after his buddy Bush - "Bye bye Posh and Tex"

Judy, your mini should do around 50 miles to the gallon so worry not, but for those of you with SUVs - go small!

As for replacing 'President' Blair, the only alternative is that miserable git Gordon Brown, and he's the one who is responsible for our ridiculously high level of fuel tax in the first place. No relief there, then.

Gee m_k,

I was going to blame it on Dick Cheney.

I was rather thinking of bypassing this whole "New Labour" madness and going Conservative, but then again I have always been Conservative, how dull you all think, if you care.

The newer Minis don't get the tremendous mileage of the old ones. I have a Mini Cooper (not an "S&quot, and I don't get anywhere near 50 mpg. My diesel Saab gets much better mileage than my Mini.

I always thought petrol was so expensive here in the UK because it has to import so much of its oil. But then I discovered that Australia's gas prices were roughly equivalent to that in the US. So that blows that theory.

The nearly 80% tax has something to do with the high prices!