Government wrangles reserve fleet of military drivers to deliver fuel amid crisis
The fuel crisis has pushed the government to call in military assistance, wrangling a reserve fleet of tanker drivers to deliver fuel as forecourt’s ran dry over the weekend.
“I can confirm the government’s Reserve Tanker Fleet will be on the road this afternoon to boost deliveries of fuel to forecourts across Britain. The trucks are driven by civilians and will provide additional logistical capacity to the fuel industry,” business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed on Twitter today.
“We are now seeing signs that the situation at the pumps has begun to improve with more stations getting more fuel. The sooner we can all return to our normal buying habits, the sooner the situation will return to normal.”
The crisis, which kicked off last week, has seen a number of energy giants temporarily close some of their stations due to severe shortage of HGV drivers in the country.
The shortage, exacerbated by a collision of the pandemic and Brexit, prompted calls from ministers and breakdown cover firm RAC for people to wind down their panic buying.
The business secretary, prior to the statement, told reporters this afternoon: “I think in the next couple of days people will see some soldiers driving the tanker fleet.
“The last few days have been difficult,” he admitted. “We’ve seen large queues but I think the situation is stabilizing.”