Just 127 drivers have applied for emergency UK visas, says Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that just 127 truck drivers have so far applied for UK visas to help ease acute shortages.
In an interview with the BBC Johnson said that the road transport industry had been asked to provide the details of drivers who were willing to come to Britain amid shortages. So far less than 130 names have been given, a far cry from the 5,000 drivers the government said it hoped to recruit with its emergency visa scheme.
“What that shows is the global shortage,” said Johnson.
Johnson denied the problem was related to Brexit instead claiming the “supply chain problem is linked to recovery” with other parts of the world also affected.
It follows comments made yesterday in which Johnson denied that uncontrolled immigration is necessary to fill vacancies in the road transport sector which is causing fuel and food shortages across the UK.
“When you look at the particular issue on petrol forecourts, there you’ve got a problem that actually now is very largely driven by demand,” the Prime Minister said, blaming panic buying for the scarcity of fuel.
On Saturday, the UK government extended an emergency visa program for truck drivers, which will allow heavy goods vehicle drivers to stay in the country on temporary visas until February.
The government said 300 fuel drivers would be able to come to the UK immediately and stay through March while a further 4,700 other visas for foreign food truck drivers will last from late October to the end of February.
However, Britain is struggling to attract drivers from the EU who formerly made up 11 per cent of road transport drivers according the the IFS.
Around 200 military personnel, including 100 drivers, were deployed yesterday to help to relieve fuel supply shortages that have caused empty pumps and long lines at filling stations. Ministers have assured the public that the fuel shortage is easing.
Read more: Petrol bosses warn fuel shortage is ‘getting worse’ in London and south-east