“I think it’s an amazing amount of money but most of the pain being felt at the pump isn’t down to excessive profits.

“The reality is very little money is made on the sale of fuel. They are not profiting in the UK at the expense of UK motorists.

“There are global reasons for the price of fuel and that’s what the Government needs to tackle, as well as encouraging more investment in renewables.

“We’ve got to encourage more investment in the North Sea, and we’re not going to do that by taxing the oil companies.”

He also warned the Government against the introduction of a windfall tax, which would slow the economy.

“We don’t want to go down that line. We want to encourage all businesses to be successful.

“If the Government taxes businesses to the hilt as soon as they become profitable it is not going to encourage them to invest and become profitable in the future.”

Dundee haulier Trevor Boyd said he was more concerned about the Government’s take from fuel duty.

“It does seem an outrageous figure, but BP have got to make money to continue,” he said.

“But if you add up the fuel duty then you have to ask what are the Government getting out of it. What’s their profit on it? There’s no calculator big enough to work that out.”

He also called for hauliers and transporters to be recognised as essential fuel users and to benefit from a reduced rate of tax.

Graeme Stephen, chairman of the Dundee Taxi Association, said the current situation was “ridiculous”.

He said, “I think it’s ridiculous that BP is making this kind of money and continues to raise the price of fuel.

“But it’s not just the oil companies — the Government and local councils need to take responsibility too.

“The Government should be doing its part because it is taking in a ridiculous amount of money through duties and taxes.

“When fuel goes up the Government takes in more money and that needs to stop.

“The council keeps pushing for more and more taxis with wheelchair access, but the fuel compensation on this type of vehicle is only 25 to 30 miles to the gallon.

“We need to try to reduce fuel consumption rather than increase the number of big vehicles that guzzle gas on our roads. We need to use cars that are greener or return a higher mileage for the fuel they use.”

Jim Milne, project leader at the Dundee AntiPoverty Forum, said, “They do claim they make less than 1p profit per litre at the pumps so if that’s the case you have to wonder where those kinds of profits come from.

“Profits like that are quite disgusting.

“Companies make vast profits and have no social responsibility, but the Government is responsible too — it needs to do more because the cost of living is soaring and the prices for these kinds of commodities are going through the roof.

“The Government needs to bring in a range of measures, like fuel tax credits, to offset the increase in prices and the increased cost of living.

“Otherwise you end up speaking about a life and death kind of situation because people can’t pay their gas and electricity bills and start dying because of cold related illnesses.”