A DEMONSTRATION by lorry drivers against fuel prices was hijacked yesterday by environmentalists protesting about climate change.
About 40 drivers from the Road Haulage Association took part in the slow-moving demonstration through Edinburgh city centre.
They were greeted by environmental campaigners, including a Green member of the Scottish Parliament, who waved placards protesting about the burning of fossil fuels.
Mark Ballard, the Green party MSP, attempted to stop the convoy by standing in the middle of Princes Street but he was moved away by police. He was given a warning but not arrested.
The lorries, travelling at between 5mph and 10mph, blasted their horns and ignored the protests by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace campaigners.
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Mr Ballard said: “I wanted to make a point to the truckers, that climate change is the biggest issue facing Scotland.
“Cheap oil is not an option; we need to burn less and get our economy less dependent on oil. We need to find another way to help the haulage industry change for a better future where more freight gets on to the railways, where truck movements are more efficient and fuel use is reduced.
“My nightmare vision of the future is what we saw today — Princes Street clogged with trucks. Truckers have an obligation like the rest of us to care about what happens to the environment.”
Roger King, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said later that lorry drivers already played a part in helping the environment through improved technology that cut emissions and improved efficiency.
“When it comes to the overall position of transport, it is not our industry’s responsibility to perhaps control demand for the use of transport — that is a role of society generally,” he said. “Road transport is a vital lifeline so it is in everybody’s interest to contain the level of increase in fuel for the transport sector. We don’t mind paying taxes but we want fair taxes and fair play on fuel.”
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Other protests earlier this month were called off around Britain after Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, promised to look again at a promised fuel tax rise of 1.9p a litre later this year.
But Mr King said that Scottish hauliers remained concerned at the high cost of fuel, which was fluctuating at about 80p a litre, and further possible increases.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said that fuel duty was a matter reserved for politicians at Westminster. “We will continue to work with representatives of the industry and liaise with Westminster to minimise the impact of any rises in fuel duty,” she said.