Shell stoked up the heated debate about the high cost of fuel on the forecourt today after reporting it made profits of nearly £1.6m an hour over the last three months.

A leading member of the road lobby said motorists would be "sick to the stomach" and declared that Shell - and a tax-taking Treasury - were "laughing all the way to the bank".

The oil group never gives details of its British forecourt sales but it confirmed today that global profits from all sides of the business rocketed to $5.7bn (£3.5bn) in the last three months of 2010 compared with $1.2bn a year ago.

Full year profits reached $18.6bn - almost double the figure for 2009 - and chief executive, Peter Voser, boasted "there is more to come from Shell."

"This just shows that while motorists and the national economy are the losers, oil companies, governments and speculators are the winners: they are laughing all the way to the bank," Carroll said.

BP reported a massive downturn in annual profits on Tuesday but the figures were distorted by the payouts resulting from the Gulf of Mexico.

Shell makes nearly £1.6m profits every hour