London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Boris Johnson urges UK to ‘fill up in normal way’ amid fuel crisis

Boris Johnson urges UK to ‘fill up in normal way’ amid fuel crisis

Boris Johnson has urged motorists to fill up normally and said the situation on filling station forecourts is “stabilising” amid the petrol crisis.

He said people should “go about their business in the normal way and fill up in the normal way when you need it, and things will start to improve”.

He spoke on Tuesday afternoon after being urged to personally “get a grip” on the crisis as school buses were cancelled and fears grew that health services could now be hit.

Following days of chaos, with long queues for petrol and stations running dry, the Prime Minister said he understood the frustration felt by drivers as they struggled to fill up.

However he said that the indications from the industry were that the situation was beginning to improve with supplies returning to normal levels.

"On the forecourts the situation is stabilising and people should be confident and just go about their business in the normal way," he said.

It came as Sir Keir Starmer called called for key workers to be given priority access to fuel supplies this week to ensure they can get to work.

The Labour leader accused the Government of reducing the country to "chaos" through its failure to deal with the fuel crisis.

But with the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) reporting "early signs" that the crisis was coming to an end, the Prime Minister expressed confidence the worst was over.

Mr Johnson said the Government was putting in place measures to ensure the entire supply chain could cope in the run-up to Christmas.

"I want to say first of all how much I sympathise with people who have been worried about their journeys, worried about whether they will be able to use their cars in the normal way," he said.

"I know how frustrating and worrying it must have been to worry about a shortage of petrol and fuel.

"We are now starting to see the situation improve. We are hearing from industry that supplies are coming back on to the forecourts in the normal way.

"What we want to do is to make sure we have the preparations necessary to get through to Christmas and beyond, not just in the supply of our petrol stations but all parts of our supply chain."

Mr Johnson rejected calls for healthcare staff and other workers to be given priority access to fuel, suggesting it was unnecessary given the easing of the situation.

After the Government announced it would be issuing 5,000 temporary visas to foreign lorry drivers to alleviate the shortages which led to the crisis, he also dismissed demands for more overseas workers to be admitted.

"What we want to see is a an emphasis on a high wage, high skill, high productivity approach to our economy," he said.

"What I don't think people in this country want to do is fix all our problems with uncontrolled immigration.

"We tried that for a long time and in the end, people could see that it was leading to a low wage, low skill approach without enough investment in people or in equipment.

"That's not the way we want the UK to develop and grow."

The Prime Minister was earlier warned he might have to address the nation to stop panic buying which has led to forecourts running dry.

Mike Grannatt, one of the key civil servants who dealt with the previous fuel crisis which crippled Britain in 2000, suggested that the ongoing run on the pumps could last for weeks unless Mr Johnson stepped in.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What happened in the end in 2000 was the Prime Minister got a grip on this stuff at the time, stood shoulder-to-shoulder literally with the fuel operators and gave a press conference and explained to people that unless we all slowed down the system would never really get back into balance.”

However, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Tuesday morning claimed there were “tentative signs of stabilisation” in forecourt supplies. The peak demand of Friday and Saturday also appears to be declining, according to a Whitehall source, given that so many people have already filled up their tanks.

The source added: “The sooner people return to normal buying habits, the sooner the supply chain will return to normal.”

But there were still major concerns as:

*  School buses across London and the South-East were cancelled for the first time on Tuesday with warnings that the situation will get much worse tomorrow if operators cannot get hold of fuel. Buckinghamshire operator Vale Travel said it could not run its service to Sir Thomas Fremantle School in Winslow because it had run out of diesel. A spokesman said: “We want to get the kids to their school, they have a right to their education, but there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”

*  A leading doctor warned that the Government needed to act today to ensure health and care workers can carry out home visits to patients. Dr David Wrigley, deputy chair of the British Medical Association, told Sky News: “We can’t be waiting in queues for two or three houses for diesel or petrol when we have patients to see. We need urgent action today from the Government.”

*  Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, told the Today programme that “disappointingly” people continue to “panic buy” fuel. He said: “As soon as a tanker arrives at a filling station, people on social media are advising that a tanker has arrived and then it is like bees to a honey pot. Everyone flocks there and... within a few hours it is out again.”

*  Ministers believe the worst of the shortages may be over within days. The Government is seeking to strike a balance with its messaging, including on whether Mr Johnson should intervene.

*  Oil prices have risen by 55 per cent so far this year and prices are currently at their highest level since 2018. Forward contracts for barrels of Brent oil were up 1.2 per cent today, changing hands at $80.48 (£58.94). The reopening of economies around the world has led to a spike in demand for fuel.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Schools and colleges are operating under a great deal of pressure at the moment because of the situation with Covid infections. The last thing they need is the added pressure of fuel shortages with the potential for this to mean that staff, pupils and suppliers are unable to get to school.”

Mr Grannatt, former head of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, which was set up after the 2000 petrol crisis, doubted whether bringing in 150 military drivers would have any major impact on the shortages.

Former business secretary Andrea Leadsom rejected criticism of the Government’s handling of the current crisis, claiming there was no shortage of tanker drivers. Asked whether ministers telling motorists not to panic buy had made the crisis worse, she told LBC Radio: “You cannot lay this on Government ministers, who have been totally measured.”

But shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon said: “It’s staggering that the Conservatives are still refusing to acknowledge there is a crisis of their own making and blaming everyone else for it.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×