Petrol crisis ‘getting worse’ in London and South East as army prepares to drive tankers

Industry leaders have warned the fuel supply is “getting worse” in London and the South-East of England as panic-buyers continue to leave forecourts dry and the army is drafted in to drive tankers.
Soldiers will start delivering petrol to forecourts across the UK from Monday in a drastic bid to end the chaos that has overwhelmed pumps over the last week, caused by a shortage of HGV drivers in a post-Brexit Britain.
The Government said on Friday that just under 200 military tanker personnel - of which 100 are drivers - have finished their training and are ready to be deployed.
The Petrol Retailers' Association, which represents thousands of independent forecourts across the country, has welcomed the introduction of the military, as it said fuel shortages are getting worse in some parts of the country.
The group said over two thirds of its petrol stations have both types of fuel, however 16 percent of garages are running dry.

Read more: Boris sends in the army to transport fuel to petrol stations amid HGV driver shortage
Read more: Haulage industry has 'serious measure of blame' for HGV shortage, Iain Duncan Smith says

Chairman Brian Madderson said the crisis remains a "really big problem" in London and the South East.
He said: "In London and the South East and possibly parts of eastern England, if anything it had got worse.
"We do need a prioritisation of deliveries to filling stations - particularly the independent ones which are the neighbourhood retail sites - in London and the South East starting immediately."
Mr Madderson said rising world oil prices mean motorists should expect higher prices at the pumps when filling stations are resupplied from Monday.

Read more: One in four petrol stations still empty, after minister warns of another week of shortages

The Government has stressed that the problem is not down to there being no fuel – the shortages have instead come from a lack of drivers to transport it from refineries and terminals to petrol stations.
It has urged people not to panic buy and instead to purchase fuel as they usually would. It says this will see levels return closer to normal, but those pleas have fallen on deaf ears for many.
Speaking during a visit to Leeds General Infirmary, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the situation on filling station forecourts was finally "stabilising" following the days of panic buying.
He added that the Government would keep the situation regarding temporary visas for lorry drivers under review. However, the haulage industry should not expect to rely on low-wage immigrant labour.
"Of course we keep everything under review but what we don't want to do is go back to a situation in which we basically allowed the road haulage industry to be sustained with a lot of low-wage immigration that meant that wages didn't go up and the quality of the job didn't go up," he said.
"The weird thing is now that people don't want to go into the road haulage industry, don't want to be lorry drivers, precisely because you have that mass immigration approach."

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "Across the weekend over 200 military personnel will have been mobilised as part of Operation Escalin.
"While the situation is stabilising, our Armed Forces are there to fill in any critical vacancies and help keep the country on the move by supporting the industry to deliver fuel to forecourts."
In an announcement on Friday evening, the Government said 300 fuel tanker drivers would be able to come to the UK from overseas "immediately" under a bespoke temporary visa which will last until March.
Some 4,700 other visas intended for foreign food haulage drivers will be extended beyond the initially announced three months and will last from late October to the end of February.
A total of 5,500 poultry workers will also be allowed in to help keep supermarket shelves stocked with turkeys before Christmas.

The Government has said these workers, who can arrive from late October, will be able to stay up to December 31 under the temporary visa scheme.
But the Government added the visas will not be a long-term solution and it wants employers to invest in the domestic workforce instead of relying on overseas labour.
It comes as opposition parties raised the prospect of a parliamentary recall to address wider labour shortages and supply chain disruption.
Sir Keir Starmer said the temporary visa scheme would not be up and running "for weeks", and added that the Prime Minister should, if necessary, recall Parliament to rush through legislation to ensure the shelves remain stocked in the run-up to Christmas.
The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Boris Johnson "must immediately recall Parliament and convene cross-party talks to set out steps to effectively tackle the Brexit crisis".

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A man threatened to get out of his car and 'slap' a woman after he attempted to cut a queue for petrol at a London filling station.
The incident appears to be another in a string of abusive confrontations outside petrol stations since panic buying began.
The man is also alleged to have thrown his coffee at the closed window of the woman's car in the incident.

Writing on Twitter where a user posted the video of the confrontation, they wrote said: "You OK mate? Tried to cut in at the petrol station ahead of a two-hour queue by ramming.
"[He] threw a coffee out of the window (at a closed window), then this."

https://twitter.com/BethAshton/status/1443922773970198533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1443922773970198533%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mylondon.news%2Fnews%2Flocal-news%2Ffuel-crisis-man-threatens-slap-21743321

In the video, the man can be heard yelling: "D***head, is that your job or her job?" To which a woman can be heard replying "well listen to her then."
He then responds: "I f***ing will you p***k. Shut your mouth you d***head."
When informed he's being filmed the man becomes even more aggressive and shouts: "So what? I'll slap that phone out of her hand.
"This stupid b***h talking s**t. You f***ing idiot, I'll get out of the car and slap you."
This was followed up by a second video of a different driver who slowed down, holding up traffic just to abuse a petrol station worker, calling them an "ugly c**t".

The two incidents are just the latest in a series of confrontations as drivers' frustrations reach a boiling point while sitting in sometimes hours-long queues for petrol.
The country is currently gripped by an ongoing petrol crisis, initially caused by a lack of tanker drivers, now exacerbated by panic buying.

Despite assurances from members of the Government that the crisis is 'stabilising', as Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News today, there are other voices warning there is worse to come.
This morning chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association Brian Madderson warned that London and the South East still have a "really big problem" and that things will likely worsen, with the planned use of military personnel to deliver fuel unlikely to make a major impact.
He said: "We do need a prioritisation of deliveries to filling stations – particularly the independent ones which are the neighbourhood retail sites – in London and the South East starting immediately."

One fuel-seeker took a Santander hire bike to a West London Esso garage forecourt

A driver in West London decided to cycle to the pumps with a jerry can to avoid the petrol queues.
After more than a week of supply issues across the UK, the fuel crisis 'back under control' according to the Government on September 30.
But many pumps remained closed in London, leaving motorists queuing for hours to fill their tanks at those still open.

READ MORE: Watch as passenger walks in front of bus after driver trapped in 10-hour Shell garage petrol queue 'refuses to take more on'

These photos taken at an Esso garage in West London show pedestrians lined up with jerry cans ready to fill.
One has brought a Santander hire bike with him to fill up with.

A man filling his jerry can inside a Sainsbury's bag at the petrol pump after walking up to it

Though there is no actual shortage in fuel supply to the UK, a lack of lorry drivers to distribute it around the country has sparked panic buying among motorists.

Meanwhile, traffic jams were so bad in Kilburn yesterday it caused a bus driver trapped in a 10-hour Shell garage petrol queue to 'refuse to take more passengers on'.
A local resident filmed the carnage and told My London: “Both the councils and the police have shown a complete lack of support. The mood was and still is anger.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called for priority petrol stations for key workers to be brought in.

He said: “As the current reductions in fuel delivery affect petrol stations across the capital, it is essential that key workers are able to get fuel to travel to work and provide the services our city needs.
"In the fuel crisis of September 2000, the Government brought in rules designating specific filling stations for essential workers, enabling the capital to keep moving.
“The Government must urgently look at taking the necessary steps, putting such measures in place, so that those key workers who have to drive to work can do so.
"We will continue to monitor developments closely and advise the Government on required actions.”