Plans to give lorries free use of the “embarrassing” M6 Toll for a month could “backfire” on the route’s operator, a Midland Euro MP has warned.

UKIP Transport spokesman,Tipton-born Mike Nattrass (pictured) says the decision by the Toll’s operator, Midland Expressway Limited (MEL), to give Road Haulage Association members free use of the road during a July trial will only produce evidence to support its nationalisation.

The Euro MP, who took part in a major ‘Scrap the Tolls’ protest in Cannock last month which called for the route to be nationalised, said: “If we see tribes of trucks on the road in July and then only a few after the trial, it will simply show the need to nationalise the route.

“The embarrassing M6 Toll, designed to relieve traffic congestion on the M6 motorway, has failed.

“Standard Toll charges on weekdays now stand at £5.50 for cars and an eye watering £11 for HGVs.

“No wonder it’s under-utilised.”