Freight bosses have hit out at the government for what it describes as its abandonment of the Lorry Road User charging scheme, without any apparent replacement plans.

Branding the decision short-sighted, the Freight Transport Association, said there appears to be no “plan B” to deal with the major problems of foreign lorries on UK road and the massive differential in diesel duty levels between the UK and Europe.

Richard Turner, chief executive, said: “What is the plan for dealing with the ever increasing number of foreign lorries which get a free ride on UK roads while UK vehicles have to pay in Europe? There does not seem to be one.

“What is the plan for the UK to decouple diesel duty on trucks against cars, thus enabling our domestic transport industry to adjust its rates closer to European competitors? There does not seem to be one.”

He described the government decision to “abandon” the LRUC as a “breach of faith” over a five-year commitment to overhaul the way lorries are taxed.

“Industry is left back where it started after the fuel protests in 2000 - with duty rates twice those in the rest of Europe and no way to break the link between truck tax and car tax,” he said.

“The LRUC scheme was not perfect. But rather than taking time to get it right, the government has simply walked away and no plan B has been announced. That is unacceptable for me, for the FTA team, for members, and should be for a government that for five years has claimed to be committed to solving these problems.”