Stop manic buying at stores
SHOPPERS were urged to stop panic-buying yesterday amid chaotic scenes at supermarkets.
Environment Secretary George Eustice pleaded with the public to be “considerate to others” as customers stripped shelves bare while stocking up for self-isolation during the coronavirus outbreak.
Insisting that Britain has enough food to go around, Mr Eustice said firms and officials were “working around the clock” to ensure supplies were available.
He told MPs: “We have significant resilience in our food supply chain in that food manufacturers are used to coping with increases in demand, not least every year during Christmas.
“There isn’t a shortage of food. The challenge we’ve had is getting food to shelves in time when people have been purchasing more.”
He said meetings were being held with industry chiefs, councils and charities to ensure “those who have to stay at home have continued access to food”.
He confirmed retail staff would be considered key workers so their children can still go to school even after many shut from tomorrow.
But he ruled out enforcing social distancing in supermarkets claiming it would be counterproductive, despite fears queues of shoppers add to the spread of coronavirus.
The minister spoke as pensioners demanded police restore order in lawless supermarkets, even as retailers including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose announced they were reserving the first hour of shopping for the elderly and vulnerable.
Describing the scene at a Sainsbury’s superstore in Edgware, north-west London, at 7am yesterday, Stuart Glass, 69, said: “The store was full of young people, some were pushing the elderly out of the way and taking items out of their trolleys.
“There were old ladies crying in the aisles. We urgently need the police or armed services to protect the food supply.” Yesterday, angry shoppers took to social media, posting pictures of bare shelves and lengthy queues.
One supermarket in Guildford, Surrey, had to open early because a huge queue threatened public safety with one man angrily banging his trolley against the door.And thugs smashed a Sainsbury’s shop front in south London after they became “hostile” when caught trying to steal bottles of spirits.
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw appealed for calm after staff were threatened and intimidated.
Panic-buying Britons spent an extra £60million on stockpiling in the first week of March – including an additional £17million on toilet roll, almost twice as much as a year earlier, said industry analysts Nielsen Scantrack.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “It is deeply worrying this problem of panic buying does not seem to be going away, despite the welcome steps some of the big supermarket chains are now taking to give their older customers priority for the stock that is available.
“The jury is out over whether these measures will be enough – if they are not then the Government needs to come forward very quickly with a firm and effective response.”
John Apter, national chair of the Police Federation of England and
Wales, said: “It’s a sad state of affairs when the elderly or vulnerable are having to ask the police to help them to get the shopping they need.
“I accept this is a scary time but we need people to act responsibly. In this time of crisis we need to look out for each other, we shouldn’t have to rely on the police to stop people fighting over loo roll.” A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We would like to thank our customers who supported the decision to dedicate an hour in our supermarkets to the elderly and vulnerable. We know that they appreciated the early access and we will listen to feedback from our customers and colleagues.”