CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Gordon Brown - the man who annually raises the price of a gallon of fuel by increasing the tax take - does not know the pump price of a litre of petrol.

Asked in the House of Commons by Tory MP, John Redwood, to tell the assembled members the price of a litre of petrol and how much of the amount was taxed he 'looked blank and did not reply directly to the question', claimed one onlooker and carried on talking about another issue.

PHH Vehicle Management's latest monthly fuel price report reveals that the national average price of unleaded is 79.86p a litre/363.03p a gallon with the Treasury taking about 75% in tax.