of thousands of lorry drivers. and that means we ve got a shortage now of 100,000. that has already led to bare shelves in supermarkets and other stores, which people within the sector have warned are likely to get worse in the run up to christmas. the haulage industry body logistics uk says the shortage is a very serious issue, but it has warned consumers against panic buying fuel. that is a call echoed by the government, which says people should refuel as normal. it points out it has already taken steps to make training new hgv drivers quicker and easier. the fuel is there and it can continue to flow. i m not saying there aren t pressures there are. it s just we are making many, many changes and moving heaven and earth, if you like, to get people into driving hgvs. not all petrol retailers are affected by the current problems. morrisons, co op and sainsbury s say their petrol stations are operating as normal. but the fact shortages are occurring at all has highlighted once again ho
hello, and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are faiza shaheen, political commentator and former labour parliamentary candidate and nonresident fellow at new york university. and also with me is rob merrick, who s deputy political editor at the independent. tomorrow s front pages, starting with. brought much of britain to a standstill today. the daily mail s front page reflects that motorists panic buying fuel brought much of britain to a standstill today. the times reports the country faced chaotic scenes today, with four hour queues at the borders and protests that blocked the port of dover. it may only be approaching the end of september, but the daily mirror says britain faces a festive crisis in shops due to the shortage of hgv drivers. according to the financial times,
problem a national shortage of lorry drivers. well, it s happened because of a multitude of factors. brexit we ve lost about 20,000 european drivers. we lost about 40,000 trucker training tests during the pandemic because of social distancing rules those tests cancelled. and we ve had a historic shortage in this country of tens of thousands of lorry drivers. and that means we ve got a shortage now of 100,000. that has already led to bare shelves in supermarkets and other stores, which people within the sector have warned are likely to get worse in the run up to christmas. the haulage industry body logistics uk said the shortage is a very serious issue, but has warned consumers against panic buying fuel. that is a call echoed by the government, which says people should refuel as normal. it points out it has already taken steps to make training new hgv drivers quicker and easier.
seeing an issue within their warehouses. what we are also seeing as it is warehouses. what we are also seeing as it is not warehouses. what we are also seeing as it is not affecting all fuel retailers as it is not affecting all fuel retailers and that is because they perhaps retailers and that is because they perhaps have planned their supply chain perhaps have planned their supply chain for perhaps have planned their supply chain for fuel in different ways, and i chain for fuel in different ways, and i suspect those retailers are not seeing and i suspect those retailers are not seeing issues at the moment, they had not seeing issues at the moment, they had a not seeing issues at the moment, they had a buffer or contingency within they had a buffer or contingency within their supply chain, not just for fuel within their supply chain, not just for fuel itself, but also of the hgv drivers for fuel itself, but also of the hgv drivers needed to move the fuel around dri
fuel giant bp supplies about 1200 outlets across the country. some have had to close temporarily while others have run out of more of one or more type of fuel. rival supplier esso says it has also experienced problems at a small number of the sites it operates in partnership with tesco. the problem is not a lack of fuel. there is plenty available at the country s refineries. but there simply aren t enough drivers to take it to petrol stations. it is part of a much wider problem, a national shortage of lorry drivers. well, it has happened because of a multitude of factors. we had brexit, lost about 20,000 european drivers, we lost 40,000 trucker training tests here in the pandemic because of social distancing rules, those tests were cancelled, and we had a historic shortage in this country of tens of thousands of lorry drivers, and that means we now have a shortage of