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Here we are again. Another oil crisis hits the West, yet a major oil giant is making humongous profits from market volatility, amid what the new CEO of BP described as an environment of conflict and complexity.

Sorry, that is just a euphemism for manna from heaven.

The entire fuel supply chain is wallowing in a nascent cash windfall amid the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

And today's news that BP has made a £2.3bn profit in just three months will leave drivers sick to the stomach.

There is no getting around the stark fact that pump prices have reached punitive heights, predominantly due to opportunistic profiteering.

Worse still, there are no signs that forecourt petrol prices, particularly diesel, will drop to the levels we saw before the Iran conflict over the next six months.

Labour's feeble attempts to achieve significant economic growth will be exposed even more by the high cost of filling up, driving up inflation and hitting GDP hard. And it's the public and small businesses that will feel the fiscal pain the most.

That's why I call on the Chancellor to cut fuel duty now, remove the VAT on the duty and scrap the 5p rise in the autumn Budget.

Why do we have to wait a month to see how Rachel Reeves plans to reduce the cost of filling up?

Dozens of countries have already introduced caps on retail fuel prices.

China and Croatia, along with Greece, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Thailand, have now introduced price caps! Taiwan absorbs 60% of price hikes through a government mechanism. Germany and Austria limit how often stations can raise prices. France has introduced price ceilings and increased inspections to prevent gouging.

Many other countries - like Spain, Portugal, and Sweden - are using alternatives such as VAT or excise tax cuts, subsidies, or stockpiles rather than direct caps.

The economy, businesses, and motorists are suffering right now. I predict that inflation will increase by 0.3% due to the pump-price rip-offs.

So, I repeat, why are we waiting to know what the hell this government plans to do to relieve the cost-of-living crisis when the rest of the world is already helping drivers.

Howard Cox is Founder of the FairFuelUK campaign