British Truck Drivers Protest Again

Truckers demanding lower fuel taxes headed toward London in a slow-moving convoy Saturday, rejecting accusations that their action risks alienating a public wearied by weeks of flooding and railway chaos.

About 20 rigs, accompanied by cars and vans, drove from Yorkshire to the northwestern English city of Manchester — where police diverted them around the city center — before heading south toward Birmingham on the protest's second day.

Seventy-one truckers and tractor drivers set off from Gateshead in northeastern England on Friday, but the convoy shrunk by more than half after it passed through Newcastle later in the day.

The protesters plan to arrive in London on Tuesday for a rally in Hyde Park. Police have said they plan to set up checkpoints to stop the trucks from entering the capital.

The truckers' protest comes two months after protests against high fuel costs nearly brought the country to a standstill: A loosely organized coalition of truckers and farmers blockaded British refineries in September, sparking panic buying that drained gasoline and diesel supplies around the country.

They eventually agreed to disband the protest, but gave the government a 60-day deadline to lower fuel taxes. The deadline expires Monday.

Treasury chief Gordon Brown announced earlier this week that the government would reduce fuel taxes by about 16.5 cents per U.S. gallon next spring.

Brynle Williams, one of the organizers of the original protest, said the convoy should disband.

"The people in general have had enough to contend with through the floods and through rail disruption. The last thing they want now is to be disrupted through further industrial action," he said.

But protest organizer Andrew Spence said the action still has public support.

"I was very, very, impressed with the people — a lot of them were driving past waving and a few were hanging out of their windows wishing us well," he said.