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The Army could be brought in to deliver fuel as driver shortages have caused some petrol stations to close, a Tory minister has said.
UK transport secretary Grant Shapps denied Brexit was to blame for a nationwide lack of HGV operators and insisted it was an issue across Europe.
But with several petrol stations across England forced to close on Wednesday and Thursday due to a lack of delivers, the MP said he would do move “heaven and Earth” so that petrol and other goods can continue moving around the country easily.
Shapps told the BBC: “Well, look, I’ll move heaven and Earth to do anything that’s required to make sure that lorries carry on moving our goods and services and petrol around the country.
“I’ll do anything which actually helps. The big query actually is where is the blockage? What we do know is that there are a lot of people who have their HGV licences but many of which will have lapsed to come out of the market, often because there has been cheaper European labour.
“We want to get those people back in.”
Questioned if he would have a standby plan to deploy army drivers to deliver fuel, he responded: “Anything that’s reasonable, and probably that’s not the solution in terms of sheer numbers. We’re not in a position where, previously, drivers have just stopped driving.
“We will always look at all the different things which are required.”
Asked how many petrol forecourts were impacted on Friday morning, Shapps told Sky News: “I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to that at 7am in the morning.
“As of last night, five petrol stations on the BP network out of twelve or thirteen-hundred were affected.
“I’m meeting this morning with Tesco and I’m sure they’ll give me the update for themselves.
“None of the other retailers said they had any closures.”
He added: “The others – Asda, Morrisons and other supermarkets – are saying they have no problems, as have other petrol companies.”
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