Northern Ireland hauliers yesterday took their protest at rising fuel prices to Belfast City Hall, using 20 articulated lorries to stage a slow-rolling blockade as their leaders were holding talks with the Northern Secretary, Mr Mandelson.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ulster Farmers Union, the Petrol Retailers Association, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Confederation of British Industry, the Road Haulage Association, the Freight Transport Association, the Oil Promotion Federation and by fisheries representatives.
Mr Mandelson said the British government had sympathy for those experiencing difficulties and wanted to find a way out of a situation "not of our own making".
The Ulster Farmers Union president, Mr Douglas Rowe, described the meeting as "worthwhile and businesslike", adding: "We left the Secretary of State in no doubt about the real affects of fuel increases in Northern Ireland. We also told him that a change of tack by government would not be seen as a sign of weakness, rather that of a government which was listening and concerned about the feelings of people."