ALLEGATIONS OF OIL MARKET MANIPULATION

That this House is deeply concerned by reports that the European Commission has been forced to raid the offices of oil giants, including Shell, BP, Statoil and Platts the oil-price benchmarker, following allegations of oil market manipulation and price-fixing; notes that oil prices are stubbornly high in the UK and that petrol and diesel as a result are more expensive than they have ever been; further notes that, despite a unanimous vote of the House in September 2012 and support from the Minister for Energy at the time calling for a full and thorough investigation, the Office of Fair Trading only managed an enquiry whether to have an enquiry after pressure from hon. Members and that while it expressed concerns about rigging in the oil market, no further action was taken; concludes that rip-off oil prices are crushing the living standards of British families, are a huge brake on jobs and growth and that motorists in the UK are being taken for a very expensive ride; and therefore urges that if convictions are made for oil price-fixing, that there should be tough prison sentences and windfall taxes on the companies involved, with all the money used to cut fuel duty.