Rishi Sunak warned fuel duty hike would hit motorists whose vehicles are ‘critical’ to them during Covid

A FUEL duty hike would hammer drivers whose vehicles are “critical” to them in the pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak was warned yesterday.

Many drivers are nervous of returning to public transport because of Covid.

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Britain’s White Van Man legion and car users told campaigners FairFuelUK that big firms and tech giants should be hit at next week’s Budget.

Amid a growing rebellion, Boris Johnson yesterday warned any Tory voting against the Budget risked being booted out of the party.

But ex-Cabinet Minister David Davis hit back, saying: “I’m afraid if the tax burden is increasing, they’re going to have a very hard job persuading me.”

He told Times Radio: “If they want to lose all the northern constituencies, that’s one way to do it.”

However, Trending In The News’s Keep It Down crusade appeared to be on the brink of a historic victory on freezing Fuel Duty at 58p for the tenth year in a row.

It is understood the PM told Tory MPs they had nothing to fear regarding fuel at the Budget during a meeting in recent days.

Mr Sunak is desperate to start closing the £400billion deficit sparked by Covid. FairFuelUK says if there are to be rises, the burden should not fall on drivers — already taxed the most in Europe for fuel.

It surveyed more than 4,000 motorists about the Budget, with 70 per cent of car drivers saying using their vehicle every day was “critical”.

That soars to nine in ten for van and truck drivers.

More than 40 per cent are nervous about using public transport.

FairFuelUK founder Howard Cox said: “Hit those billionaire online businesses and supermarkets profiteering out of the pandemic, not the self-employed person who requires their car to get to work on a daily basis and travelling between jobs.”