Petrol station crisis: Panic buying means motorists to face ‘another week or so’ of fuel shortages

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Ministers are bracing for the ‘EFFing crisis’ of energy chaos, fuel shortages and empty food shelves to last for months as they admitted lengthy queues at petrol stations are likely to continue for at least another week.

Government insiders are said to have given the ongoing nationwide disruption the ‘EFFing’ label in reference to problems in the energy, fuel and food sectors.      

Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said this morning that the fuel situation should be resolved in a ‘week or so’.   

Mr Malthouse said there needs to be an ‘improvement’ in the situation in the coming days and that Boris Johnson stands ready to review matters if there is any deterioration.

But even if the fuel debacle is resolved, ministers expect problems in other areas to continue in the months ahead. 

A massive increase in the wholesale cost of gas has prompted a handful of energy firms to collapse, with consumers facing skyrocketing bills this winter. 

A huge shortfall in HGV driver numbers is already hitting supply chains, with empty shelves in some supermarkets, as industry chiefs predict there will be further food and potentially even toy shortages this Christmas. 

A shortage of food processing workers and butchers is adding to the disruption, with farmers warning they are running out of room because of growing animal numbers and they could soon be forced to start a ‘mass cull’. 

Business leaders have called on the Government to issue visas to allow foreign workers to come to the UK to plug the gaps in the workforce. 

Ministers have announced 5,000 temporary visas for HGV drivers amid an estimated shortage of 100,000 but the Government is resisting pressure to go further, insisting that UK firms should focus on training British workers to do the jobs. 

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng accused those firms demanding visas of trying to keep wages down, telling the Conservative Home website that British voters had ‘rejected the low-wage, high-immigration model’ at the Brexit referendum.  

He said the UK is currently in a ‘transition’ phase, explaining: ‘What we’re seeing now is part of that transition. You’re quite right to say people are resisting that, particularly employers that were benefiting from an influx of labour that could keep wages low.’  

It came as pictures showed that approximately 40 reserve petrol tankers continued to sit in storage in Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire this morning despite the ongoing fuel crisis. 

Pictures taken in Kent, Reading and London showed panic buying continuing, while bus routes were subject to delays in the early hours of the morning as huge queues continued to form at forecourts across much of the country. 

The latest developments in the ‘EFFing crisis’ came as: 

A farmer was forced to slaughter hundreds of piglets due to staff shortages at the local abattoir leaving too many stacked up on his farm. The National Pig Association warned the UK is heading into an ‘acute welfare disaster very quickly’ because of the backlog of animals, with warnings of a potential ‘mass cull’. Ocado customers have been left furious after Christmas delivery slots were all booked up just hours after they went up online. Experts warned that supply chain problems could see shortages of pigs in blankets, hams and party foods this Christmas. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told Boris Johnson to deploy the military to get petrol to stations in areas most in need. Sir Keir also said Parliament should be recalled from its conference recess so MPs can discuss how to solve supply chain problems. 

Average fuel levels at UK petrol stations yesterday were at 20 per cent for the third day running – less than half the normal figure of 43 per cent – but Whitehall analysis showed a drastically varying picture by region. 

Mr Malthouse’s downbeat assessment contrasted sharply with comments by other ministers in recent days that the situation would swiftly return to normal as drivers resumed their usual buying patterns.

It follows a warning by the Petrol Retailers Association that filling stations were running out of fuel faster than they could be resupplied, with one in four forecourts having run dry. 

Writing in The Times, The Spectator’s political editor James Forsyth said ministers believe the so-called ‘EFFing crisis’ will continue throughout the autumn months.

Mr Malthouse told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘We are still seeing strong demand in parts of the country around fuel. The distribution mechanism is trying to respond to this unprecedented demand.

‘My latest briefing is that the situation is stabilising, that we are seeing more forecourts with a greater supply of fuel and hopefully that, as demand and supply come better into balance over the next few days, week or so, that we will see a return to normality.

‘I think if things started to deteriorate further, obviously the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Energy, whose responsibility this is, will have to review the situation.’ 

Revelations over the regional variations came as the Government was yesterday accused of ‘gaslighting’ Britain over the fuel crisis, with ministers admitting more than a quarter of petrol stations still remain without supplies.

London and Bristol were among the worst hit areas yesterday as UK roads were gridlocked for the seventh day in a row while motorists hunted for stations with fuel, carrying petrol cans, plastic jugs and water bottles to stock up.

The Petrol Retailers Association said that while the situation at filling stations is improving it is happening ‘far too slowly’.

Chief executive Gordon Balmer said not enough fuel was getting through to independent stations.

‘In a PRA member survey today of 1,100 sites across the UK including motorway service areas, 47% of sites have reported having both petrol and diesel in stock, 27% have either one grade in stock and 26% are dry,’ he said.

‘Whilst the situation is similar to recent days, there are signs that it is improving, but far too slowly. Independents which total 65% of the entire network are not receiving enough deliveries of fuel compared with other sectors.

‘Until independents start getting frequent supplies, we will continue to see long queues at forecourts. It is vital now to ensure we get fuel to all parts of the country in order to reduce queues and reassure the public again.’ 

Sir Keir today demanded Mr Johnson take ’emergency action’ to fix the fuel crisis as he called for the PM to deploy soldiers to get petrol to those areas most in need.  

He called for Parliament to be recalled and for fuel stations with supplies to extend their opening hours to help NHS and other key workers fill up.

He said: ‘Every day wasted is prolonging this crisis. The Government has been talking about issuing visas but still hasn’t done anything. Meanwhile our essential workers are struggling to get to work and families face a cost of living crisis.

‘The Prime Minister should be taking emergency action today but yet again he’s failed to grasp the seriousness of the crisis. If it needs legislation, then let’s recall Parliament to get these emergency measures through urgently.

‘The Prime Minister promised to save Christmas last year and we all know that went disastrously wrong. Now he’s making the same empty promises again. Boris Johnson was warned about this crisis and he did nothing about it. He had the chance to make a plan but ignored it. The Prime Minister needs to get a grip.’ 

London, the South East, the North West, the West Midlands and East Midlands all have fuel levels of below 20 per cent and are labelled ‘red’ under a traffic light system that is reminiscent of the Government’s travel lists.

But fuel levels are improving in the North East, Yorkshire and Wales which have all moved from red to amber, while Scotland is moving from amber to green – and Northern Ireland is already green, reported The Times.

Mr Malthouse also insisted there was no ‘shortage of fuel in the UK’, rather ‘only so many tankers, only so many drivers’ to distribute supplies across the country. 

His comments came just 24 hours after another minister – Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke – claimed the situation was ‘absolutely back under control’.

Around 40 reserve petrol tankers, worth an estimated £4 million, are parked in the storage depot in Fenstanton, whilst forecourts across the UK remain closed due to a shortage of truck drivers.

Just a handful of the white tankers, which are stored at the depot in case of a national emergency, have been seen leaving so far.

Panic buying was sparked last week by concerns a lack of lorry drivers would prevent supplies reaching fuel pumps, and has brought long queues around the UK and pockets of aggression at petrol station forecourts. 

Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, yesterday explained: ‘There’s been no easing off of the pressure from drivers wanting to refuel whenever they can, wherever they can. 

‘Trying to calm this down appears to be a monumental task at the moment.’

Government ministers began briefing on Monday that they believed the crisis would begin easing from Thursday as drivers who needed petrol or diesel would then have been able to fill up.

The Prime Minister then gave a statement insisting the crisis was ‘stabilising’ and told drivers to ‘go about their business in the normal way and fill up in the normal way, when you really need it’.

Earlier this week Mr Johnson ruled out granting priority access to fuel to healthcare staff on the grounds that it was unnecessary as the situation was ‘stabilising’.

However Mr Malthouse said there were ‘pockets’ of the country where there were still problems – with London and the South East reported to be among the hardest hit.

He said efforts were being made to balance out the situation with areas where supplies were strong, but he indicated they were being constrained by the numbers of tankers available.

‘What we need to see is a stabilisation and improvement over the next few days,’ he said.

‘Obviously there only so many tankers that can be used to get this fuel around. They are trying their best to get around as fast as possible.

‘There is co-ordination now across the country looking at where there are pockets of supply problems and demand strength and trying to bring the two into balance.’

New data from home insurer MORE THAN reveals that two in five (40%) drivers are storing fuel in or around the home, with one in six (16%) storing fuel inside the home, despite warnings that it puts homeowners and their families at serious risk. 

It is illegal for homeowners to store more than 30litres of fuel. 

On Wednesday, Business Secretary Kwasi announced the Government was sending out its reserve tanker fleet – driven by civilian drivers – to support the distribution efforts.

However it is yet to deploy the 150 military drivers who have been on standby since the start of the week to assist with the operation.  

Figures from the Department for Transport have shown there is a backlog of more than 56,000 applications for vocational driving licences, including HGV and bus permits, waiting to be processed.

Ministers have blamed the pandemic, which led to the cancellation last year of tens of thousands of tests.

Mr Malthouse’s comments raise the prospect that Mr Johnson will go into the Conservatives’ annual party conference – which begins in Manchester at the weekend – with the issue still hanging over the Government.

The crisis began after reports that a shortage of tanker drivers had led a number of BP stations to close, which triggered a wave of panic buying which has yet to fully subside.