But fuel protest spokesman Andrew Spence, a farmer from Consett, Co Durham, dismissed the defence secretary's comments.

There will be no more positive action. We won't be going back to the refineries, we will not be picketing supermarkets

Fuel protest leader Andrew Spence

"Mr Hoon wants to come back down to reality," he said.

"It's totally preposterous."

The People's Fuel Lobby, involved in the September fuel protests, had hoped hundreds of lorries would make the long journey south to highlight what they see as excessive duty on fuel.

But Mr Spence insisted the convoy was still strong, and disputed that numbers were disappointing.

He told BBC News 24 the convoy was getting the message across and there would not be a return to the direct action protests.

"We won't be going back to the refineries, we will not be picketing supermarkets," he said.

"We are just doing our peaceful protest to make the country and the chancellor aware that we are not suited."

Police instructions

More than 50 lorry drivers from Wales are expected to meet up with the convoy on Monday.

The convoy members said they would await police instructions for Monday's leg of the protest, but they still aim to reach London on Tuesday for a mass rally in London's Hyde Park.

Police have used legal action to keep strict controls on the convoy's speed and routes to prevent disruption.

The drivers face a police exclusion zone to stop them entering the capital on Tuesday and many will have to use public transport to attend the rally.

Drivers are determined to finish the cross country journey

Some members of fuel campaign have called for the rally to be cancelled rather than risk an embarrassingly low turnout.

The convoy is also being tailed by an environmentally-friendly Greenpeace campaign lorry.

Members of Friends of the Earth demonstrated against the truckers as they passed Great Barr, Birmingham on Sunday.

Some protestors have accused the government of "buying off" drivers with the chancellor's offer of a �1bn hand out to the haulage industry.

But Transport Minister Lord Macdonald has rejected the claims. He compared the government's concessions to truckers with the aid given to other ailing industries such as mining and farming.

And he insisted pledges to cut the growth in car use did not stop ministers being "pro-car".

"The government is anti-congestion, it is anti-pollution," he told Sky's Adam Boulton show on Sunday.

"But if a car is necessary, and it clearly is in rural areas for getting around or if it is people juggling complicated lives, single parents trying to get kids to school, working shifts, then of course you need a car."

The convoy follows a 60-day moratorium laid down by the protesters after the September oil refinery blockades.

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