Boris Johnson ‘considering sending in Army’ to drive fuel trucks as pumps run dry across UK

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering bringing in army drivers to fix a supply chain crisis in Britain, with many petrol stations running dry over the weekend as panic among motorists spread.

The government has already caved in to industry demands to issue 5,000 short-term visas to truck drivers, yet business leaders and unions said it wouldn't fix the problem. Fuel supplies had run dry at numerous sites around London, causing anguish for regular motorists and threatening the ability of key workers to do their jobs.

Government ministers have downplayed the role of Brexit in the shortage of truck drivers in the UK.

The risk is that a prolonged fuel crisis will damage the post-pandemic recovery, putting more strain on already stretched supply lines.

Air travel has been spared from any disruption because jet fuel is mostly pumped directly to large onsite storage facilities at airports. London Heathrow, the U.K.'s largest airport, has "an independent network primarily supplied by pipeline," spokesman Weston Macklem said. London Luton has likewise seen no impact, said spokesman Neil Bradford.

At all points of the compass around London, numerous fuel stations had no supplies for motorists.

From Balham Hill in the south to the Holloway Road in the north, some sites operated by Royal Dutch Shell had covered their pumps and put out signs saying fuel was unavailable. Still, cars and vans continued to drive through the forecourt seeking supplies. One BP site in Shepherds Bush, in the west of the city, had cordoned off all of its pumps with red and white tape.

One of the few stations in London that had any fuel for sale early on Monday morning caused a small traffic jam on the Albert Embankment, across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament, as trucks and taxis lined up to fill their tanks.

Supermarket chain Tesco has more than 500 of its own fuel stations around the U.K. and a further 200 which are operated by Esso with a Tesco Express store on site. It said it is not rationing fuel.

While the retailer has experienced some temporary outages of fuel in a number of areas, it had "good availability of fuel," according to a statement on Monday.

The London Taxi Drivers' Association said on Twitter that it has been urging City Hall to lobby the government to designate some fuel stations for the use of essential workers only.

One black-cab driver told how she tried 10 north London petrol stations on Saturday night, queuing for two hours at one site before the police came to clear away motorists when it ran out of fuel. She eventually found a BP garage open at 6am on Sunday morning.

"I ended up searching from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., because I wouldn't have been able to work the next day if I didn't," she said.

Poor working conditions mean the U.K.'s bid to attract truck drivers on short-term visas will be a "dead end," said Edwin Atema, head of research and enforcement at the FNV union, which represents drivers across Europe.

"The EU workers we speak to will not go to the U.K. to help the U.K. out," Atema told BBC Radio 4 on Monday.

Across Europe, drivers who are "plagued by exploitation" have been leaving the industry as multinational companies drive down costs, Atema said. But the situation is particularly acute in the U.K. because there is no collective agreement for the whole road transport industry, he said.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said his office is working with the Department of Transport to try to find ways of securing fuel supplies for key workers.

"Our emergency services and our buses have enough and they've got some in reserve," Khan said in an interview with Sky News. "We're hearing stories about care workers, people who work in hospitals who need their car to go to hospital, black cab drivers, private-hire vehicle drivers not being able to fuel up."

In a separate interview with Times Radio, Khan said "we've got to get the army in as soon as possible," to help deliver fuel supplies.

The opposition Labour Party blamed the government for the current situation, saying it was complacent before the fuel crisis occurred and has stoked panic through poor communications.

"The government is tweeting out in capital letters: 'There is no fuel crisis'," Labour treasury spokeswoman Rachel Reeves told Times Radio on Monday. "I don't know anything that's more likely to induce panic."

Action taken by the government to resolve the shortage of truck drivers falls short of what is needed, Reeves said.

The Petrol Retailers Association, representing service stations in the U.K., said some of its members in England have all but run out of fuel.

"It looks as though the panic-buying has really been exacerbated in the main urban centers, particularly in England," Brian Madderson, chairman of the PRA, said on Sky News. Some larger retailers report 50pc of sites are dry; "some even report as many as 90pc dry yesterday."

While the issue is "quite acute," Madderson said "I am keeping my fingers crossed it will be less of a problem by the end of the week."

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng triggered the "Downstream Oil Protocol" to exempt the industry from competition rules temporarily.

The move allows companies to share information so they can prioritise deliveries to where they are needed most. And it makes it easier for the government to work with producers, suppliers, hauliers and retailers.