The Scottish Government has been rebuffed by Alistair Darling in a fight to get petrol prices cut for remote areas of the UK by applying a reduced rate of fuel duty.

The Scottish Government has been rebuffed by Alistair Darling in a fight to get petrol prices cut for remote areas of the UK by applying a reduced rate of fuel duty.

It was suggested that the UK Government seek permission from the European Union to apply the reduced rate for purchases in rural or remote areas.

France was granted similar permission in December 2007 to cut fuel duty for unleaded petrol in Corsica, arguing prices there were considerably higher than the mainland.

The Scottish Government has argued in lobby efforts to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that this is a precedent that could and should be extended to the UK and in particular parts of the Highlands and Islands.

But The Herald has learned that the Chancellor, who has a home in the Western Isles, has rejected the calls as it would be too difficult to enforce.

Mr Darling, in a letter to Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney, said drawing the boundaries of any fuel duty rebate area would be "extremely complicated".

He added: "Fuel prices are not consistent across the Highlands and Islands and price patterns are neither straightforward nor static. Different price trends are not confined to neatly definable geographical areas."