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Driver shortage hits fuel supplies as BP, Esso close some petrol stations

Driver shortage hits fuel supplies as BP, Esso close some petrol stations
Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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The government on Friday vowed to do whatever it takes to resolve a trucker shortage that has forced oil giant BP to close some petrol stations and strained supermarket supply chains to breaking point.

BP temporarily closed some of its 1,200 UK petrol stations due to a lack of both unleaded and diesel grades, which it blamed on driver shortages. ExxonMobil's Esso said a small number of its 200 Tesco Alliance retail sites had also been impacted.


For months supermarkets and farmers have warned that a shortage of truck drivers was straining supply chains to breaking point - making it harder to get goods to market.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said there was a global shortage of truckers after Covid halted testing so Britain was boosting the number of tests. Asked if the government would ease visa rules, he said the government would look at all options.

"We'll do whatever it takes," Shapps told Sky News. "We'll move heaven and earth to do whatever we can to make sure that shortages are alleviated with HGV drivers."

McDonald's had to take milkshakes and bottled drinks off the menu at its British restaurants in August and chicken chain Nando's ran out of chicken as they battled the supply chain issues that have hit businesses across the economy.

Suppliers have warned that there could be more shortages of petrol because of a lack of drivers to transport fuel from refineries to retail outlets, but Shapps said that government moves to double the number of lorry driver tests would soon resolve the crisis.

"Many more tests are being made available now so we should see it smooth out fairly quickly," he said.

The haulage industry says it currently needs around 100,000 more drivers after some 25,000 returned to Europe before Brexit and the pandemic halted the qualification process for new workers in Britain.

Shapps said Covid-19 exacerbated the problem and that Britain was unable to test 40,000 drivers during lockdowns.

The trucking industry body, the Road Haulage Association, has called on the government to allow short-term visas for international drivers to enter Britain and fill the gap, while British drivers are being trained for the future.

But any change in policy may already be too late to support the run up to Christmas because the retail industry starts preparing in September and October and any visa rule change or increase in testing would take time to come into force.

"It's an enormous challenge," Rod McKenzie, head of policy at the RHA, told Reuters. In the short-term he said international drivers could help, even if it may be too late to help Christmas, and in the longer term the industry needed better pay and conditions to attract workers.

"It's a tough job. We the British do not help truckers in the way that Europeans and Americans do by giving them decent facilities," he said.

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Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.

A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.

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“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.