Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Fuel crisis: Johnson rules out priority access for key workers

Fuel crisis: Johnson rules out priority access for key workers

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out priority access at the pumps for key workers, insisting a fuel supply crisis to British petrol stations was improving, even as forecourts remained gridlocked with motorists desperate to fill up.

In his first broadcast comments on the crisis that has seen the army put on standby to deliver supplies, Johnson said there was no need to allow essential workers to jump the queue.


"With the situation now stabilising and things getting better on the forecourts, the best thing is we stabilise it in the normal way," he told reporters.

Lengthy queues formed outside gas stations across London on Wednesday (29), with signs on the orbital motorway around the capital warning that no fuel was available at some sites, Reuters reporters said.

The government said on Tuesday (28) that fuel shortages across the country had started to stabilise, after a rush of panic-buying left fuel pumps dry across major cities.

Five days of long queues at filling stations across Britain have caused traffic gridlock and frayed tempers, with some motorists even using plastic water bottles to get supplies.

Johnson on Monday (27) night put the army on standby to drive tankers from refineries, after a day of denials that troops were being readied for deployment.

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said 37 per cent of its members' forecourts had reported being out of fuel on Tuesday morning.

"With regular restocks taking place, this percentage is likely to improve further over the next 24 hours," PRA executive director Gordon Balmer said.

Johnson urged the public "to go about their business in the normal way and fill up... when you really need it", blaming global supply pressures for the situation.

And he defended his dramatic U-turn on post-Brexit immigration policy that offers European truckers a three-month visa waiver to plug the driver shortfall.

Critics say that would not be enough to tempt many foreign lorry drivers to return and pushed for longer.

But Johnson said "low wage, low-skilled immigration" was "not the way we want the UK to develop".

'Country reduced to chaos'

The leader of Britain's main opposition Labour party, Keir Starmer, said the government had reduced the country to "chaos" and had no clear plan.

Haulage industry bosses had told him the government "is denying there's a problem, then blaming somebody else, and then coming up with a half-baked plan"," he added.

Fuel shortages are now having a knock-on effect across several sectors, with non-league football matches cancelled and schools warning of a return to online lessons if teachers are unable to reach classrooms.

A shortage of truckers even before the fuel supply crisis has led to empty supermarket shelves and delivery delays, stoking fears of a lack of food and toys for Christmas.

The British Meat Processors Association said panic-buying of fuel could make supermarkets' existing supply chain problems worse.

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less