Radical action is necessary to cut the number of cars on Britain's roads, Alistair Darling has warned.

Speaking at a roads seminar yesterday, the transport secretary pledged to push forward plans to roll out congestion charging across the country.

"It seems to me that in order to deal with the pressures over the next 20 to 30 years, we ought to look at the opportunities that are now being presented to us with new technology in order to deal with the pressures that we face," he said.

"And pricing for roads is just one of those matters that I think we need to look at."