Army drivers hit the roads to deliver petrol to Britain’s forecourts after fuel crisis drained stations

ARMY drivers have started delivering fuel today to Britain’s forecourts – as Boris Johnson warns disruption could last until Christmas.

Troops have hit the roads for the first time as part of Operation Escalin.

Splash

The Army deliver fuel to a petrol station in the New Forest, Hampshire[/caption]

Cpl Danny Houghton

The PM said it was simply a precaution and there were signs the crisis was abating[/caption]

PA

Ministers say the fuel crisis is easing but problems remain in London and the South East[/caption]

Cpl Danny Houghton

The Army hit the roads for the first time as part of Operation Escalin[/caption]

The PM said it was simply a precaution and there were signs the crisis was abating.

But industry chiefs still warned that London and the South East was still badly hit, with more than one in five stations out of petrol and diesel.

Mr Johnson again rejected calls for more European tanker driver visas while more Brits are trained to replace cheap labour after Brexit.

He insisted: “The way forward for our country is not to just pull the big lever marked ‘uncontrolled immigration’ and allow in huge numbers of people.”

But he warned of empty shelves in the run-up to Christmas with the economy in a period of transition.

He was pressed in a BBC interview about a warning by Chancellor Rishi Sunak that problems in the global supply chain meant shortages could hit the festive season.

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He replied: “Rishi is invariably right in everything he says,” before adding hurriedly: “It depends how you interpret what he is saying.”

Asked about a warning in June by the Road Haulage Association that a major crisis was building due to the shortage of drivers, he insisted he had known about the problems long before then.

The Government has agreed to grant 5,000 temporary visas to lorry drivers and a further 5,000 to ­poultry workers to try to address shortages in those industries.

Army personnel were seen in combat fatigues at a storage depot in Hemel Hempstead as they filled up tankers ahead of setting off around the country.

Around 200 members of The Army, who were put on standby last week, will initially focus on the hardest-hit areas.

They include members of 3rd Logistic Support Regiment who have been in training with the petroleum industry logistics company Hoyers in Thurrock, Essex.

Doug Seeburg

Problems in the global supply chain meant shortages could hit the festive season[/caption]

Alamy

Mr Johnson again rejected calls for more European tanker driver visas while more Brits are trained to replace cheap labour after Brexit[/caption]

Cpl Danny Houghton

Army drivers start delivering fuel to Britain’s forecourts[/caption]

Geoff Robinson

Industry chiefs still warned that London and the South East was still badly hit, with more than one in five stations out of petrol and diesel[/caption]

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