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Sky News quoted a Whitehall source as saying the military would be mobilized as a precaution. It comes after ministers on Monday played down rumors that the military could be used to deliver petrol to gas stations across the UK due to a shortage of heavy truck drivers.
Environment Minister George Eustice insisted Monday morning that there were no plans to bring in the military to drive trucks to deliver fuel to gas stations.
He said: “We have no plans at this time to use the military to actually drive.
“But we still have a civilian contingency section within the military on hold – but we’re not necessarily jumping on it just yet.”
He reiterated the government’s message to drivers to stop “panic buying”, before adding: “The most important thing is that people buy gasoline as they normally would.
“There is no shortage. There have been a few shortages of heavy truck drivers to deliver gasoline to the forecourt, but in reality it is quite limited. “
It comes after 10 major UK fuel suppliers, including BP, Shell and Esso, issued a statement insisting they expect gasoline demand to return to normal levels “in the next days”.
In the statement, the fuel industry said: “There is a lot of fuel in UK refineries and terminals, and as an industry we are working closely with the government to help ensure that the fuel is available for delivery to stations across the country.
“As many cars now contain more fuel than usual, we expect demand to return to normal levels in the coming days, easing pressure on gas station forecourts.
“We encourage everyone to buy fuel as usual.
“We remain extremely grateful to all of the forecourt staff and heavy truck drivers for working tirelessly to maintain supplies during this time.”
The statement also came from Wincanton, Certas Energy UK, Hoyer Petrolog UK, Greenergy, Fuels Transport & Logistics, Downstream Fuel and Suckling Transport.
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