THE cost of hiring cars and vans in Britain compared with those in Europe was dropped from research commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry. A total of 100 products, including the cost of car hire, were due to be compared in the 'rip-off Britain' report, but only 56 price comparisons were eventually published this week.

A spokesman for the DTI said 'it was impossible to compare like with like' for various reasons, particularly with cars, where products had different specifications between countries. He said the results were 'not robust enough for public scrutiny' and would have been unfair.

The study revealed that claims the British consumer is being ripped off are largely unfounded, with the majority of prices for household goods being the same as in France, Germany and the US.