Fuel providers ‘profiteering’ as litre rises 15p in two hours
PETROL prices at some forecourts increased 15p in two hours yesterday, as fuel suppliers were accused of “profiteering” from the HGV driver shortage.
Motorists reported nearly £1.50 per litre, as the panic over supply continued to cause long queues at some stations and others to run out.
Police attended a brawl between drivers at a forecourt near Chichester, West Sussex and reports emerged of vulnerable people missing vital hospital appointments because of the gridlock caused by long queues for fuel.
Police stood among cars to stop them blocking the road in north London.
Howard Cox, from the Fair Fuel Campaign blamed government for “ignoring” the HGV driver crisis, which has reduced delivery to petrol stations.
“They’ve buried their heads in the sand and not done anything about it,” he said. “They only react to things. The worst you can do in this situation is say ‘don’t panic, there’s plenty of fuel’.
“That means panic, and that is what people are doing.” Mr Cox said that in Kent some providers had increased their prices by 15p in a matter of hours.
“The worst part is the fuel supply chain is going to be profiteering,” he told GB News. EG Group, which has around 400 petrol stations in the UK, said they would limit customers to £30 each to regulate the supply of fuel.
There were reports yesterday of inde
‘Government have buried their heads in the sand and not done anything about it. They only react to things’
pendent petrol stations following suit.
BP said around 20 of its 1,200 forecourts were closed due to lack of fuel, with between 50 and 100 sites lacking at least one grade.
A “small number” of Tesco stations have been affected, said Esso owner ExxonMobil. It follows concern over the impact the lack of HGV drivers is having on supermarket supplies.