Causes of petrol crisis and panic on forecourt

Petrol stations the length and breadth of the UK have seen queues as drivers rush to buy fuel amid concerns over shortages.

The crisis is the latest facing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on top of problems in the food industry and rising gas prices, with fears the UK could be facing a new “winter of discontent”.

But what is causing some filling stations to close and is the government doing anything to tackle the problem?

The shortages are not due to a lack of petrol but a lack of HGV drivers that is hitting supply chains across the country.

Long queues started appearing at petrol stations up and down the country on Friday, amid concerns the shortage of lorry drivers could impact upon BP’s ability to keep up with fuel deliveries.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps previously said the queues and closures at fuel stations were a “manufactured situation” created by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) leaking comments from BP bosses about supply concerns.

A statement by Shell, ExxonMobile and other industry bodies released yesterday insisted there was no “national shortage of fuel” and that the pressures on supply were the result of “temporary spikes in customer demand”.

The government has also blamed the crisis on drivers filling up when they do not need to, rather than a shortage of fuel.

UK Environment Secretary George Eustice called on motorists to stop “panic buying” petrol and return to their normal pattern of purchasing.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said Scotland has an adequate petrol supply to meet normal purchasing patterns.

But he acknowledged that if there is an increased demand for fuel then that will “put pressure” on distribution companies to meet that demand.

The shortage of HGV drivers is a consequence of Covid-19 and Brexit, with a current gap of more than 100,000 drivers in the UK.

This includes around 25,000 drivers from EU member states who were living and working in the UK but left in 2020.

In part this is down to Brexit because, when the UK was part of the single market, drivers were able to travel back and forth to Europe with ease.

The additional red tape after Brexit meant for many it was too much hassle for them to drive into and out of the UK.

The pandemic has also played its part by creating a large backlog of around 40,000 drivers waiting to take their HGV tests.

The UK Government announced on Sunday that it will temporarily suspend competition law to allow oil companies to share information to deliver fuel to petrol stations that are running low.

The move came after the prime minister said the government was creating 5,000 three-month visas for foreign lorry drivers in an attempt to ease the pressure on hauliers.

Mr Swinney said the move does not go far enough to tackle labour shortages caused by Brexit in a number of sectors.

There were also reports that Mr Johnson was considering sending in troops to deliver fuel to petrol stations.

Downing Street the government was monitoring the situation on a daily basis but there were currently no plans to use the military in this way.

However, Environment Secretary George Eustice said Ministry of Defence trainers are being brought in to accelerate some of the HGV training.

The government is also writing to nearly one million drivers who hold an HGV licence to encourage them to return to the industry.

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) blamed the shortages on last week’s leak of concerns by BP about some shortages of tanker drivers.

RUNNING DRY: Drivers are being assured there are supplies of petrol but some filling stations have been running out because of panic buying.