海角视频

Retail groups are warning the Government that it has just days to save Christmas from 鈥渟ignificant disruption鈥� caused by the ongoing HGV driver shortage.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Friday that unless progress could be made in the next 10 days, disruption to festive preparations will be "inevitable".

Also on Friday, BP, Esso and Tesco petrol forecourts were impacted by challenges getting petrol deliveries amid panic buying and some chaotic scenes.

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Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC, said: 鈥淗GV drivers are the glue which hold our supply chains together.

鈥淲ithout them, we are unable to move goods from farms to warehouses to shops.

鈥淐urrently, the 海角视频 faces a shortfall of around 90,000 HGV drivers and it is consumers who ultimately suffer the consequences.

鈥淯nless a solution can be found in the next 10 days, it is inevitable that we will see significant disruption in the run-up to Christmas.鈥�

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps denied that Brexit was to blame for the 海角视频鈥檚 recent shortage of lorry drivers, arguing the Government could in fact react more quickly as a result.

He said: "Not only are there very large and even larger shortages in other EU countries like Poland and Germany, which clearly can鈥檛 be to do with Brexit, but actually because of Brexit I鈥檝e been able to change the law and alter the way our driving tests operate in a way I could not have done if we were still part of the EU.

鈥淪o, Brexit actually has provided part of the solution of giving more slots available for HGV (heavy goods vehicle) tests and there are a lot more, twice as many, tests available now than before the pandemic, a large proportion of those we鈥檝e only been able to do because we are no longer in the EU.鈥�

BP said around 20 of its 1,200 petrol forecourts were closed due to a lack of available fuel, with between 50 and 100 sites seeing the loss of at least one grade of fuel.

Esso owner ExxonMobil said a "small number鈥� of Tesco refilling stations have also been impacted.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tried to dissuade motorists from panic buying, saying motorists should 鈥渃arry on as normal鈥�.

On the BBC鈥檚 Today programme, he said: 鈥淚鈥檒l move heaven and earth to do anything that鈥檚 required to make sure that lorries carry on moving our goods and services and petrol around the country."

At a meeting a week ago, BP reportedly told the Government that the company was struggling to get fuel to its forecourts.

Its head of 海角视频 retail Hanna Hofer described the situation as 鈥渂ad, very bad鈥�, according to a report by ITV News.

BP had 鈥渢wo-thirds of normal forecourt stock levels required for smooth operations鈥�, she said, adding that the level is 鈥渄eclining rapidly鈥�.

On Thursday, Rod McKenzie of the Road Haulage Association trade body said that the Government had allowed the driver shortage to get 鈥済radually worse鈥� in recent months.

鈥淲e have got a shortage of 100,000 (drivers),鈥� he told BBC鈥檚 Newsnight.

鈥淲hen you think that everything we get in Britain comes on the back of a lorry, whether it鈥檚 fuel or food or clothes or whatever it is, at some point, if there are no drivers to drive those trucks, the trucks aren鈥檛 moving and we鈥檙e not getting our stuff.鈥�

He added: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we are talking about absolutely no fuel or food or anything like that, people shouldn鈥檛 panic buy food or fuel or anything else, that鈥檚 not what this is about.

鈥淭his is about stock outs, it鈥檚 about shortages, it鈥檚 about a normal supply chain being disrupted.鈥�