Richard Branson wants tougher oil industry rules

Richard Branson has called for stricter regulations in oil industry trading markets.

The Virgin Atlantic chairman and entrepreneur claims he is seeking a meeting with the government in order to lobby them for tougher trading rules in the oil industry.

He said that the prime minister needs to work with US regulators in order to put and end to price-fixing and excessive speculating by traders, which he blames for forcing up oil prices.

"Billions of dollars are being traded on oil futures, many times more than the amount of oil in the world, which is falsely pushing up the price of oil," Mr Branson explained.

He said that companies which use oil are often paying 25 to 30 per cent more than is necessary because of this practice.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Steve Ridgway, the Virgin Atlantic chief, agreed.

He explained that the price of oil has a huge impact on airline costs and is the fundamental factor in the re-pricing of air travel.