The Scottish Mail on Sunday

Bid to allay Christmas panic

- By Jonathan Bucks

THE Government tried to dampen fears last night that staff shortages, soaring energy bills and global supply-chain woes will lead to panicbuyin­g in the run-up to Christmas.

Toys, clothes, chocolate and toilet rolls are among products that could become scarcer in weeks as manufactur­ers face soaring costs.

The Confederat­ion of Paper Industries said sectors including food packaging could also be hit. Director general Andrew Large warned costs could ‘go through the roof’. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics said around one in six British shoppers had been unable to buy essential food items at stores over the past fortnight.

It came as a poll of 1,000 people by The Grocer magazine suggested two-thirds were worried or very worried at the prospect of food and drink shortages over Christmas.

Hundreds of thousands of shoppers have already booked Christmas delivery slots. Waitrose saw 22,000 booked by lunchtime on the day it released its dates last week.

Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay sought to allay fears by pledging the Government’s support for the private sector and saying the Army could be deployed.

Boris Johnson has hired former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis as his supply-chain crisis tsar, tasked with clearing ‘blockages’ and ‘pre-empting potential future ones’.

 ?? ?? MIND THE GAPS: A disappoint­ed shopper is confronted with depleted shelves at a Morrisons supermarke­t yesterday
MIND THE GAPS: A disappoint­ed shopper is confronted with depleted shelves at a Morrisons supermarke­t yesterday

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