Fights, army on standby as panic buying in UK leaves fuel pumps dry

LONDON • British drivers have expressed frustration as they hunted for hours or sat snarled in queues to fill their tanks after petrol stations in major cities ran dry due to a trucker shortage that prompted the government to put the army on standby.

Queues of drivers snaked back from those petrol stations that were still serving in major cities, though dozens were closed with signs saying they had no petrol or diesel.

Fights broke out at some petrol stations as drivers jostled for fuel.

A post-Brexit shortage of lorry drivers, exacerbated by a halt to truck-driving-licence testing during Covid-19 lockdowns, has sown chaos through supply chains, raising the spectre of shortages and price hikes ahead of Christmas.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said a limited number of military tanker drivers had been put on a state of readiness to be deployed to deliver fuel if necessary.

An air of chaos has gripped the world's fifth-largest economy in recent weeks as the shortage of truckers strained supply chains and a spike in European wholesale natural gas prices tipped energy companies into bankruptcy.

Such is the gravity of the situation that the British Medical Association has called for health workers to get priority access to fuel to ensure the health service can operate.

Britain's transport minister pleaded with drivers to refrain from filling up water bottles with fuel, as reserves at many petrol stations had been replenished.

"We're starting to see very tentative signs of stabilisation which won't yet be reflected in the queues," Mr Grant Shapps told Sky yesterday. "The sooner we all return to our normal buying habits, the quicker this gets resolved - and I do appeal to the public to do that. In particular, no more water bottles at petrol stations. It's dangerous and not helpful."

He said the fuel crisis was almost completely due to the Covid-19 pandemic which halted truck licence examinations.

"Brexit I hear mentioned a lot, and it no doubt will have been a factor. On the other hand, it's actually helped us to change rules to be able to test more drivers more quickly - flexibilities we have received by coming outside of the EU and being able to change the law," he said.

The lack of truckers combined with panic buying has drained the system. The demand for fuel has meant that 50 per cent to 90 per cent of pumps were dry in some areas of Britain, according to the Petrol Retailers Association.

Meanwhile, the government on Sunday announced a plan to issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers. But some Polish hauliers said the offer was laughable and that few would be likely to take it up.

Hauliers, petrol stations and retailers said there are no quick fixes as the shortfall of truck drivers - an estimated 100,000 - was so acute, and transporting fuel demands additional training and licensing.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged the government to broaden the scheme to attract the truckers needed to keep Christmas supplies on track.

"To avoid disappointment for millions of households during the festive season, we urge the government to rapidly extend this programme, both in size and scope, to HGV (heavy goods vehicle) drivers in all sectors of the retail industry," said Mr Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC. "It will take many months before there are enough new British drivers to cover the shortfall."

REUTERS