Fuel crisis: Londoners reveal why they’re queuing for petrol
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The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) found in its survey of 5,500 independent members nearly two-thirds of outlets are out of fuel.The rest of the stations surveyed are “partly dry and running out soon”.The UK has more than 8,000 stations.
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UK fuel crisis: Competition law halted as petrol stations run dry Brian Madderson, the PRA’s chair, shared the survey of its members on Sunday.
He said to the BBC: “They serve the main roads, the rural areas, the urban roads, and anywhere between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of their forecourts are currently dry – and those that aren’t dry are partly dry and running out soon.
“One of them mentioned to me that yesterday they had a 500 per cent increase in demand compared to a week ago, which is quite extraordinary.”
BP, which operates 1,200 petrol stations, also said: “With the intense demand seen over the past two days, we estimate that around 30 per cent of sites in this network do not currently have either of the main grades of fuel.”
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Phillip Schofield says fuel panic buying is ‘unbelievably selfish’ It comes as a Whitehall source said the Government is expected to mobilise the army to take control of the UK’s fuel crisis.
Sky News Quote: d a Whitehall source who said the army will be mobilised as a precaution.
Ministers throughout Monday downplayed rumours the military could be used to deliver petrol to stations throughout the UK due to a shortage of HGV drivers.
Environment minister George Eustice said: We’ve no plans at the moment to bring in the army to actually do driving.”
FOLLOW TODAY’S LIVE UPDATES ON THE PETROL CRISIS HERE
Petrol stations LIVE: ‘Careful where you park car!’ Urgent warning as thieves drain fuel (Image: GETTY) Trending KEY EVENTS Thieves drain cars of petrol overnight 08:25 Shapps blames Road Haulage Association for petrol crisis 07:41 16 hours ago 22:55 Dylan Donnelly THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED Click here for more coverage 16 hours ago 22:23 Dylan Donnelly British army on standby for deployment in UK to fix fuel crisis The Government announced late on Monday military tanker drivers will be trained so they are ready to be deployed if necessary.
The Military Aid to the Civil Authorities request was issued by the business secretary on Monday.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng described it as a “sensible, precautionary step”, saying the UK had strong supplies of fuel.
He added: “The UK continues to have strong supplies of fuel, however we are aware of supply chain issues at fuel station forecourts and are taking steps to ease these as a matter of priority.
“If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localised demand for fuel.”
The fuel industry expects demand to return to normal in the coming days.
18 hours ago 21:05 Dylan Donnelly Union says ‘no surprise’ EU HGV won’t return to help fuel crisis Andy Prendergast, national officer of the GMB union, said the fuel crisis, caused in part by a HGV driver shortage, can only be solved by improving pay and conditions.
He said: “Five years ago this country basically told European truck drivers to get on their bike.
“Now we’re in a crisis and we are desperate to welcome them back with open arms.
“It’s no surprise they aren’t queuing up to come back to the country that slung them out.
“Changing immigration rules or relaxing drivers’ tests is not the way to solve the HGV shortage.
“Paying drivers what they know they are worth, and improving appalling conditions in the industry, is.”
18 hours ago 21:05 Dylan Donnelly ‘Army won’t necessarily be needed’ to end fuel crisis – Whitehall A Whitehall source shared the Government is expected to mobilise the army as a precaution.
The source said Operation Escalin – which would see troops drive tankers to petrol stations – is designed to deliver up to 450 drivers, adding the Government is looking to see how many drivers it can generate in the week.
There could be up to 150 ready for next weekend.
However, Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby is reporting that they think it’s doubtful the army will be anything other than an insurance policy.
She claimed the Government is hopeful the crisis has “peaked and will subside”.
19 hours ago 19:46 Dylan Donnelly ‘It’s NOT Brexit!’ Raging lorry driver reveals REAL reason for UK petrol crisis HGV driver Paul from Sutton called in to speak to Naga Munchetty on BBC Radio 5 live to reflect on the current driver shortages and in turn petrol crisis facing the UK.
The caller said: “The one thing that I wanted to mention is that this mass exodus of drivers, this never happened with Brexit .
“We still had all the drivers, there was no loss.
“This happened when the Government decided to take limited companies away.
“I know quite a few drivers where I’ve worked in the agency area all the time.
“They have gone home with bounce back loans that everybody else has got to pay for and it is all guaranteed by the Government.
“Why would you want to come back? You have got pay PAYE like any other limited company and it is a no brainer.”
20 hours ago 18:37 Dylan Donnelly Fuel crisis sees Surrey mull declaring major incident The fuel crisis leaves public services in Surrey considering declaring a major incident in response
Tim Oliver, the Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, has said public services in the county are considering declaring a major incident.
The option will be considered by the local resilience forum, which includes the local NHS and police, this evening.
He said: “We have been experiencing the same problems as everyone else so we are deciding whether or not to declare a major incident which would give the forum powers to prioritise key workers.
“We have got access to fuel supplies which we can designate for priority workers so social workers can be given a card which enables them to access those supplies.
“We have also got our own electric vehicles so our role would be to coordinate that activity so those people who need to travel can.”
21 hours ago 17:51 Dylan Donnelly Care leaders urge for emergency measures for staff to get fuel Care leaders have warned staff around England are struggling to find fuel, and have called for measures to be put in place to prevent it.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) said emergency measures must be put in place so care staff get fuel, such as designated protected slots at stations.
It is also urging other drivers to think twice about topping up their tanks and to limit car use.
Stephen Chandler, Adass president, said: “Care staff must be able to do their jobs.They provide essential support to people to eat and drink, wash, go to bed and get up and out to work and other activities – and to take medication and relieve pain.
“The government must do all it can to guarantee adequate fuel supplies at filling stations, but the problems being experienced by care staff show that special steps are needed to help them.
“The public also have a responsibility not to make their difficulties any worse.”
21 hours ago 17:26 Dylan Donnelly Teachers fear return to online learning if stranded by fuel shortages Reports hold schools are considering returning to online learning if teachers can’t make their way in because of the fuel crisis.
The Times claimed head teachers have reportedly warned it may have to happen if staff are left stranded at home.
A school in Surrey is said to have written to parents saying the situation “could potentially disrupt school next week”.
They added it is considering temporarily moving to online learning if it becomes necessary.
23 hours ago 16:06 Dylan Donnelly Carer refused petrol from Morrisons as she ‘isn’t an emergency worker’ A carer was turned away from the only petrol station open in her area because “she is not an emergency worker”.
Joanna Termets Barrell, a carer in Newquay, Cornwall, went to a Morrisons petrol station on Sunday morning, ahead of a 12 hour shift.
Ms Barrell said the petrol station was the only one open within 10 miles, but was coned off.
She was then told by a garage worker fuel was only available for emergency workers .
She told CornwallLive: “I am absolutely fuming, Sunday morning at 6.30 and I am turned away from the only petrol station in Newquay open, the next nearest 10 miles away, because as a carer in the community I am not classed as an emergency worker.
“This is not funny.How are people’s loved ones supposed to be hoisted out of bed to go to the toilet, get washed, fed, medications given, dressed?”
24 hours ago 15:06 Dylan Donnelly ‘It’s like end of days!’ Fuel delivery driver being followed – ‘cars tracking every turn’ David Flatman, sports pundit and former rugby union player, has shared his lorry driver brother-in-law who delivers fuel is being followed by desperate motorists.
He said on Twitter: “My brother in law is a lorry driver and delivers fuel.
“He’s on the road now and there are people following him – literally tracking his every turn – in cars.
“He says it’s like end of days.2021 y’all.”
24 hours ago 14:58 Tara Fair Electric car searches soar 1,600 percent amid fuel shortage Analysis of Google search data reveals that online searches for electric cars in the UK exploded 1,600 percent on September 24, the day when the petrol station fuel shortages became a widespread phenomenon across the country.
Interest for electric cars skyrocketed to 16 times the average volume in one day, an unprecedented spike in interest for electric cars, according to the research from Carguide.
A spokesperson for Carguide said: “It’s interesting to see how a shortage in fuel for petrol and diesel cars at the petrol stations can cause such a massive hike in online searches for electric cars across the country.
“This trend will likely continue, as more and more people become conscious of their viability, and almost every major manufacturer is committed to electrifying their vehicle portfolio – with the electric car ranges and capabilities increasing almost exponentially as new models come to market.”
24 hours ago 14:50 Tara Fair Week’s worth of fuel sold in two days Yasser Ahmed, 37, who runs West Drayton service station with his father, has denied the claims that petrol station owners were doing well out of the crisis, insisting their money comes from shop sales which have plummeted.
He said his four-pump station had gone through 30,000 litres of fuel – the amount it would usually sell in a whole week – in just two days.
Mr Ahmed said: “That’s completely not normal.
“Yesterday we didn’t open up, we lost a whole day yesterday, today dad is in, only because we have a lot of regular customers from the local community who are going to work and want to grab their coffee first in the morning.
“That’s the only reason we opened up.
“We’re not selling anything inside, our shop sales have tanked.
“People are saying on social media that petrol station owners are doing really well and making a lot of money – we’re not.
“We make our money from shop sales, and they’re gone.”
Week’s worth of fuel sold in two days (Image: GETTY) yesterday 14:33 Tara Fair German election winner blames Brexit for UK’s fuel crisis German election winner Olaf Scholz has blamed Brexit for the fuel crisis engulfing Britain.
Mr Scholz said the country’s woes were a consequence of its divorce from the European Union.
He said: “The free movement of labour is part of the European Union.
“We worked very hard to convince the British not to leave the Union.
“Now they decided different and I hope they will manage the problems coming from that.”
German election winner blames Brexit for UK’s fuel crisis (Image: GETTY) yesterday 14:24 Tara Fair Boris Johnson warned in June of critical lorry driver shortage Boris Johnson was warned by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) about the critical lorry driver shortage in June.
A letter addressed to the Prime Minister said: “It is our collective view that there has never been a more challenging time for this industry and we urge you to take decisive steps to ensure that we can continue to maintain the UK’s integrated and finely balanced supply chains.”
The RHA estimated that the UK was short of over 100,000 drivers which has led to significant supply problems including some petrol stations being forced to close.
As the latest Office for National Statistics data shows, the number of large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers has fallen significantly over the last couple of years, leading to an estimated 236,000 drivers compared to the 330,000 exceeded numerous times since the start of 2016.
yesterday 13:56 Tara Fair British Medical Association joins calls for petrol priority for healthcare workers The British Medical Association (BMA) has joined calls for healthcare workers to be given priority to access fuel to ensure essential services were maintained during the petrol crisis.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of council at the BMA, said: “Everyone will have their own reasons for needing to fill up, but as pumps run dry there is a real risk that NHS staff won’t be able to do their jobs and provide vital services and care to people who urgently need it.
“Healthcare and essential workers must therefore be given priority access to fuel so they can continue their crucial work and guarantee care to patients.”
The request comes hours after Union Unison asked the Government to consider petrol priority for key workers.
yesterday 13:40 Tara Fair Fuel issues NOT affecting medicine deliveries, reassures pharmacists The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has reassured people that pharmacies are still getting deliveries of medicines and people should continue to collect their prescriptions as normal.
There had been concerns that the current fuel crisis may have prevented the delivery of some essential medicines.
However, Professor Claire Anderson, president of the society, said: “Pharmacies are still getting deliveries of medicines and people should order and collect their prescription in the usual way.
“As normal, pharmacists are working with patients to ensure they get the medicines they need.
“We’re not aware that the problems with fuel supplies are stopping patients getting their medicines.
“If you have any concerns then please speak to your local pharmacist and their team, who will be able to help and reassure you.”
yesterday 13:29 Tara Fair Driver with ‘truckload’ of large canisters asked to leave petrol station The manager of a petrol station near Heathrow Airport said o ne driver who arrived with a “truckload” of large canisters for filling was asked to leave the station and staff were forced to close the toilets to stop customers waiting for pumps to reopen.
He said despite a 4am delivery on Sunday, long queues formed immediately at the station, with drivers “desperately” seeking fuel.
The station was forced to close and then reopen at 7am, and staff had to take measures to manage customers’ frantic behaviour.
He said there was “no guarantee” when the next delivery would be, but that he had kept some fuel spare for members of the emergency services and those in desperate need.
yesterday 12:56 Tara Fair ‘Create designated fuel stations for key workers!’ pleads union The Government has faced calls from Unison Union to use emergency powers to “designate fuel stations for the sole use of key workers” after reports of emergency services being forced to queue for hours for fuel.
The union’s general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The Government has to take control.
It’s no good ministers wasting time on a pointless blame game or pretending there’s no problem.
“Essential staff must be able to get to their jobs so they can continue to provide the services so many rely upon.
“Ambulance crews, nurses, care workers, teaching assistants, police staff and other key workers mustn’t be left stranded or forced to queue for hours simply to get to a pump.
“The Government could solve this problem now by using emergency powers to designate fuel stations for the sole use of key workers.”
yesterday 11:48 Tara Fair ‘S**t you created for yourselves!’ Dutch trucking boss vows no help to UK in Brexit swipe A Dutch truckers union boss has vowed not to help the UK to fill the gaps of the HGV driver shortage as he said Brexit was to blame for the “s**t Britain has created for itself” with the petrol crisis.
Edwin Atema, head of enforcement and research at the Dutch-based FNV union, turned the issue of the HGV driver shortage into a Brexit attack on the UK despite earlier saying issues persisted long before Brexit and Coronavirus.
He slammed: “The EU workers we speak to will not go to the UK for a short term visa to help UK out of the s**t they created themselves!”
yesterday 11:23 Tara Fair ‘Stop panic-buying!’ pleads Environment Secretary Environment Secretary George Eustice urged motorists to “stop panic-buying” petrol and return to their normal pattern of purchasing.
He explained there was not a shortage of fuel and blamed some petrol stations running dry on motorists filling up when they did not need to.
Mr Eustice said: “The most important thing is that people buy petrol as they normally would.
“There isn’t a shortage.
“There have been some shortages of HGV drivers getting petrol to forecourts but actually that is quite limited.
“The cause of these current problems is that panic-buying episode and the most important thing is for people to start buying petrol as they normally would.
“There does come a point – as we saw during a previous episode of panic-buying during the pandemic on food – where things settle down and people get used to it, and return to life as normal again.
“The sooner people do that the better.
“The only reason we don’t have petrol on the forecourts is that people are buying petrol they don’t need.”
“The cause of these current problems is panic buying.”
Environment Secretary George Eustice has said the UK has “plenty of petrol” and “there isn’t a shortage”.
He admits though there has been “some shortages of HGV drivers” but it is “quite limited.” https://t.co/Ppa7DeyHhg pic.twitter.com/kEKpmTu0pc
u2014 Sky News (@SkyNews) September 27, 2021 yesterday 10:43 Tara Fair Men forced to push van to petrol station after ‘running on fumes’ Two men were forced to push a van to the petrol station on the Brixton Road this morning after “running on fumes”.
The desperate move comes as thousands of people drive to petrol stations for a third day of panic buying.
Chaos at the Brixton Road petrol station this morning.The owner of this van came from Gatwick looking for petrol.
Heu2019s running on fumes so his colleagues are pushing him over the line to the forecourt @LBC | @LBCNews pic.twitter.com/loUYpz12vd
u2014 James Gooderson (@JamesGooderson) September 25, 2021 yesterday 10:36 Tara Fair Idiots! electrician rages at panic buyers A self-employed electrician has raged at “idiots” panic-buying fuel who he says have “directly taken food off the table” for his wife and son.
Roland McKibbin, 31, from Beckenham, London, said he was only able to reach one of his jobs on Monday and was forced to cancel the rest.
Mr McKibbin said: “I rely on fuel to travel to jobs, no fuel means I can’t drive, which means I can’t get to jobs with my tools.
“So, basically, the panic-buying idiots have lost me income, and directly taken food off the table for my wife and five-year old son, because I can’t wire people’s houses from home unfortunately.
“I wasted about 15 miles of fuel looking, in the end I had to turn back as I was on fumes.”
Mr McKibbin said being unable to travel would cost him “at least £200 for the day” while he could also have to cancel jobs on Tuesday.
yesterday 10:00 Tara Fair Panic buying will create a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, warns petrol boss The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents independent fuel retailers has warned mass panic buying will create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Gordon Balmer, executive director of the PRA, who worked for BP for 30 years, said: “We are unfortunately seeing panic buying of fuel in many areas of the country.
“We need some calm, please don’t panic buy: if people drain the network then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
His comments come hours after PRA estimated up to 90 percent of forecourts had run out of fuel.
Panic buying will create a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, warns petrol boss (Image: GETTY) yesterday 09:30 Tara Fair Medics unable to get to work amid fuel crisis Campaign group EveryDoctor said some medics have reported being unable to get to work because they have not got enough fuel.
Dr Julia Grace Patterson, chief executive of the group which has 1,700 members, said: “Doctors and other healthcare workers cannot care for patients if they cannot get to work.
“I am hearing from many today who have spent the weekend unsuccessfully trying to find petrol.
“Our Health Secretary Sajid Javid has been critical of telephone consultations recently – he clearly believes face-to-face appointments are necessary.
“We therefore need to know urgently what the Government’s plan is to ensure that all NHS staff can reach their workplaces safely during this fuel crisis.
“Doctors are desperately concerned about patients and the Government must take responsibility and find a solution.”
An ambulance worker, Lester Jay, sent me this drone footage of queuing traffic at the Asda petrol station in Luton at the weekend.
Four ambulances in the town were off the road due to the resulting shortages.#PetrolPanic pic.twitter.com/ezf2XELJPS
u2014 Jon Ironmonger (@JonIronmonger) September 27, 2021 yesterday 09:14 Tara Fair Government’s immigration policies to blame for shortages, says Labour Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has blamed the Government and its immigration policies for the crisis hitting petrol stations and shops.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Since last year I have been meeting and talking with the Road Haulage Association and hauliers about some of the problems coming down the line.
“The Government ignored those problems, which is why we are now facing the situation where people go to the supermarkets and see shortages of goods on the shelves, and why they are queuing up at petrol stations and not being able to fill up their tank.
“That is not acceptable, this is an out-of-touch and complacent government.
“Most people couldn’t care less whether the HGV is being driven by a British worker or a foreign worker.
“What they want to know is when they get to the petrol station, they are able to fill up their car; when they are trying to get presents for their kids at Christmas they are going to be delivered; and when they are trying to order food it is available in our supermarkets and on online deliveries.
“At the moment, because of this Government’s out-of-touch, complacent and negligent nature, those things are not guaranteed.”
yesterday 08:57 Tara Fair ‘The Government has failled,’ according to GMB union Addressing changes to visa rules for HGV drivers, GMB union general secretary Gary Smith told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it “is not going to address what is a fundamental long-term problem, a Government who has failed to plan for the economic needs of the country and for our failure to pay key workers properly”.
Asked if it would be wrong to have 100,000 visas given, he said: “I am not convinced that just issuing loads of visas is going to address the problem.
“We have got a short-term crisis, we are going to have to come together and find solutions for that.
“But there has to be an honest conversation about a country that’s mired in low pay and insecure work.
“We are paying for years of driving down pay and conditions.”
yesterday 08:40 Tara Fair Keep calm! urges trade boss Consumers must stop panic-buying to ease the fuel crisis while the Government implements longer-term solutions to tackle HGV driver shortages, according to a trade association policy director.
Elizabeth de Jong, policy director at Logistics UK, told the BBC : “We are seeing the impact of panic buying, we have been assured through the Petrol Retailers Association and we have been assured by some of the larger petrol companies in the country that there is enough fuel for everyone, but yet we have become very concerned and are buying and buying and have caused a very big problem.
“I represent and have been dealing with the Government over the general shortage of HGV drivers, we have got a number of announcements there about increased tests, funding of new visas, so there are issues in the industry and some of these will take a while to resolve, some of these can be resolved, so a lot is being done, but we really need to keep calm, just as we did through Covid with toilet rolls, for this not to continue.
“There’s the shorter-term panic-buying which if we go back to our normal amounts and almost relax our behaviour and bring it back to normal then that can calm down quite quickly.”
Keep calm! urges trade boss (Image: GETTY) yesterday 08:25 Tara Fair Thieves drain cars of petrol overnight Footage shared to social media shows a man explaining how fuel was drained from his car overnight.
The man explains how the thieves drilled a hole in the bottom of his tank and drained his car of petrol the day after he had refilled it.
The process was repeated for his neighbour’s car.
Madness this how bad it got
careful where you park your car.Fuel thieves out in full force.pic.twitter.com/BxgVxLGUdQ
u2014 London & UK Crime (@CrimeLdn) September 26, 2021 yesterday 08:09 Tara Fair Business Secretary thanks HGV drivers for their ‘tireless work during this period’ Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has assured people that there are “long-standing” contingency plans in place to combat the fuel crisis and thanked HGV drivers for their “tireless work”.
Mr Kwarteng said: ‘We have long-standing contingency plans in place to work with industry so that fuel supplies can be maintained and deliveries can still be made in the event of a serious disruption.
“While there has always been and continues to be plenty of fuel at refineries and terminals, we are aware that there have been some issues with supply chains.
“This is why we will enact the Downstream Oil Protocol to ensure industry can share vital information and work together more effectively to ensure disruption is minimised.
“We thank HGV drivers and all forecourt staff for their tireless work during this period.”
Business Secretary thanks HGV drivers for their ‘tireless work during this period’ (Image: GETTY) yesterday 07:55 Tara Fair ‘Serious problems’ for stock levels, warns PRA chairman Brian Madderson, chairman of the PRA, has warned panic buying has caused “serious problems” for stock levels, which the Government’s foreign HGV driver visa plan was unlikely to fix quickly.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, Mr Madderson said: “I’ve talked to a lot of our members this morning.
“They serve the main roads, the rural areas, the urban roads, and anywhere in between 50 percent and 90 percent of their forecourts are currently dry, and those that aren’t dry are partly dry and running out soon.
“We have seen another phenomenon which is that the oil companies, perhaps rightly, have been giving motorway service areas priority delivery, and so people are now flocking on to motorways wherever they have one nearby and buying fuel from the motorways.
“One of them mentioned to me that yesterday they had a 500 percent increase in demand compared to a week ago, which is quite extraordinary.”
‘Serious problems’ for stock levels, warns PRA chairman (Image: GETTY) yesterday 07:41 Tara Fair Shapps blames Road Haulage Association for petrol crisis Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has blamed the Road Haulage Association (RHA) for the current petrol crisis.
He has accused them of leaking details of BP’s concern about a fuel shortage.
He said: “There was a meeting which took place about ten days ago, a private meeting in which one of the haulage associations decided to leak the details to media, and that has created, as we have seen, quite a large degree of concern as people naturally react to those things.”
Mr Shapps went on to describe the briefings as “irresponsible”.
RHA deny these claims.
Shapps lashes out at Road Haulage Association (Image: GETTY) yesterday 07:36 Tara Fair Up to 90 percent of forecourts currently dry, says petrol bpss Up to 90 percent of forecourts are currently dry and those which are not are running out soon, according to a petrol boss.
Brian Madderson, chairman of the PRA, said: “I’ve talked to a lot of our members.
“They serve the main roads, the rural areas, the urban roads, and anywhere in between 50 percent and 90 percent of their forecourts are currently dry, and those that aren’t dry are partly dry and running out soon.”.
