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A top figure in the haulage industry has told Sky News that deploying army personnel to help tackle the HGV driver shortage “will not scratch the surface” of the UK’s delivery crisis.

A Government spokesperson said:

“The recent pandemic has proven that the UK has a large, diverse and highly resilient food supply chain that has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges.

“We are working closely with the haulage industry to understand and address recent pressures. There is no suggestion of using military support at this time and no requests have been made.”

Richard Burnett, who heads the Road Haulage Association (RHA), was responding to reports the government was set to call on HGV specialists from the military, including the Royal Logistics Corps, in an effort to tackle a deteriorating backlog of goods that has seen some supermarket shelves run bare in recent weeks.

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There are potentially 2,000 drivers who could take up some of the slack but both the Department for Transport (DfT) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) have signalled that no official request had yet been made.

Army trucks will be used to distribute protective equipment to NHS staff as the supply chain struggles to cope
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The drivers of Army trucks, such as this one, are trained to full industry standards

Mr Burnett said that 40% of the number were part of the Territorial Army – reservists – and suggested that even the military could do little to alleviate the scale of the industry’s immediate challenges which had been made more difficult by the summer holidays.

The RHA has blamed the COVID crisis for the bulk of its problems – with many drivers returning home to European countries at the start of the pandemic never to return because of Brexit and disruption to driver tests during the pandemic holding back replacements.

The body RHA estimates the shortfall of drivers at 100,000 and has demanded the government relax Brexit immigration rules to allow foreign talent to return on a temporary basis.

It is a plea that has, so far, fallen on deaf ears in Whitehall – with government assistance to date including a relaxation of rules governing drivers’ working hours and promises of a more streamlined testing system to aid recruitment.

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Hauliers warn against extending working hours

The job has become more attractive salary-wise in recent months as a growing number of firms offer up-front bonuses and wage uplifts in an effort to attract and retain staff respectively.

But Mr Burnett warned that even with any military assistance, the UK was still heading for a winter of worsening disruption as the busy Christmas season loomed.

He said: “This really isn’t going to scratch the surface at all or give any reassurance that as things get worse during the summer, as drivers take more holidays and we’ve got no drivers to backfill, that this is really a resolution to the problem at all.”

He added: “We’re seeing the impact in the supermarkets, drivers that drive refuse vehicles are being attracted away by higher wages in many sectors, that’s going to mean difficulties in terms of collecting waste.”

Mr Burnett pointed to containers “stacking up” at ports as evidence the backlog was getting worse.

“We really need government to wake up and realise that the only short term solution here is to address this through the Home Office shortage occupation list and with temporary visas to allow us in the short-term additional labour in while we train a UK based workforce which is going to take at least 18 months to tackle.”

A government spokesperson responded: “The recent pandemic has proven that the UK has a large, diverse and highly resilient food supply chain that has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges.

“We are working closely with the haulage industry to understand and address recent pressures.

“There is no suggestion of using military support at this time and no requests have been made.”

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Ryanair urges EU chief to ‘quit’ over air traffic strike disruption

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Ryanair urges EU chief to 'quit' over air traffic strike disruption

The boss of Ryanair has told Sky News the president of the European Commission should “quit” if she can’t stop disruption caused by repeated French air traffic control strikes.

Michael O’Leary, the group chief executive of Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, said in an interview with Business Live that Ursula von der Leyen had failed to get to grips, at an EU level, with interruption to overflights following several recent disputes in France.

The latest action began on Thursday and is due to conclude later today, forcing thousands of flights to be delayed and cancelled through French airspace closures.

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Mr O’Leary told presenter Darren McCaffrey that French domestic flights were given priority during ATC strikes and other nations, including Italy and Greece, had solved the problem through minimum service legislation.

He claimed that the vast majority of flights, cancelled over two days of action that began on Thursday, would have been able to operate under similar rules.

Mr O’Leary said of the EU’s role: “We continue to call on Ursula von der Leyen – why are you not protecting these overflights, why is the single market for air travel being disrupted by a tiny number of French air traffic controllers?

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File photo dated 02/09/22 of a Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS passenger airliner comes in to land at Stansted Airport in Essex. Ryanair has revealed around 63,000 of its passengers saw their flights cancelled during last week's air traffic control failure which caused widespread disruption across the industry and left thousands of passengers stranded overseas. In its August traffic update, the Irish carrier said more than 350 of its flights were cancelled on August 28 and 29 due to the air traffic contr
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Ryanair has cancelled more than 400 flights over two days due to the action in France. File pic: PA

“All we get is a shrug of their shoulders and ‘there’s nothing we can do’. We point out, there is.”

He added: “We are calling on Ursula von der Leyen, who preaches about competitiveness and reforming Europe, if you’re not willing to protect or fix overflights then quit and let somebody more effective do the job.”

The strike is estimated, by the Airlines for Europe lobby group to have led to at least 1,500 cancelled flights, leaving 300,000 travellers unable to make their journeys.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary speaks to journalists during a press conference at The Alex Hotel in Dublin. Picture date: Thursday October 3, 2024.
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Michael O’Leary believes the EU can take action on competition grounds. Pic: PA

Ryanair itself had axed more than 400 flights so far, Mr O’Leary said. Rival easyJet said on Thursday that it had cancelled 274 services over the two days.

The beginning of July marks the start of the European summer holiday season.

The French civil aviation agency DGAC had already told airlines to cancel 40% of flights covering the three main Paris airports on Friday ahead of the walkout – a dispute over staffing levels and equipment quality.

Mr O’Leary described those safety issues as “nonsense” and said twhile the controllers had a right to strike, they did not have the right to close the sky.

DGAC has warned of delays and further severe disruption heading into the weekend.

Many planes and crews will be out of position.

Mr O’Leary is not alone in expressing his frustration.

The French transport minister Philippe Tabarot has denounced the action and the reasons for it.

“The idea is to disturb as many people as possible,” he said in an interview with CNews.

Passengers are being advised that if your flight is cancelled, the airline must either give you a refund or book you on an alternative flight.

If you have booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can claim the full cost of the return ticket back from your airline.

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CBI kicks off search for successor to ‘saviour’ Soames

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CBI kicks off search for successor to 'saviour' Soames

The CBI has begun a search for a successor to Rupert Soames, its chairman, as it continues its recovery from the crisis which brought it to the brink of collapse in 2023.

Sky News has learnt that the business lobbying group’s nominations committee has engaged headhunters to assist with a hunt for its next corporate figurehead.

Mr Soames, the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, was recruited by the CBI in late 2023 with the organisation lurching towards insolvency after an exodus of members.

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The group’s handling of a sexual misconduct scandal saw it forced to secure emergency funding from a group of banks, even as it was frozen out of meetings with government ministers.

One prominent CBI member described Mr Soames on Thursday as the group’s “saviour”.

“Without his ability to bring members back, the organisation wouldn’t exist today,” they claimed.

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Rupert Soames
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Rupert Soames. Pic: Reuters

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Mr Soames and Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI chief executive, have partly restored its influence in Whitehall, although many doubt that it will ever be able to credibly reclaim its former status as ‘the voice of British business’.

Its next chair, who is also likely to be drawn from a leading listed company boardroom, will take over from Mr Soames early next year.

Egon Zehnder International is handling the search for the CBI.

“The CBI chair’s term typically runs for two years and Rupert Soames will end his term in early 2026,” a CBI spokesperson said.

“In line with good governance, we have begun the search for a successor to ensure continuity and a smooth transition.”

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Ryanair and easyJet cancel hundreds of flights over air traffic control strike

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Ryanair and easyJet cancel hundreds of flights over air traffic control strike

Ryanair and easyJet have cancelled hundreds of flights as a French air traffic controllers strike looms.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, said it had axed 170 services amid a plea by French authorities for airlines to reduce flights at Paris airports by 40% on Friday.

EasyJet said it was cancelling 274 flights during the action, which is due to begin later as part of a row over staffing numbers and ageing equipment.

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The owner of British Airways, IAG, said it was planning to use larger aircraft to minimise disruption for its own passengers.

The industrial action is set to affect all flights using French airspace, leading to wider cancellations and delays across Europe and the wider world.

Ryanair said its cancellations, covering both days, would hit services to and from France, and also flights over the country to destinations such as the UK, Greece, Spain and Ireland.

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Group chief executive Michael O’Leary has campaigned for a European Union-led shake-up of air traffic control services in a bid to prevent such disruptive strikes, which have proved common in recent years.

He described the latest action as “recreational”.

Michael O'Leary. Pic: Reuters
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Michael O’Leary. Pic: Reuters

“Once again, European families are held to ransom by French air traffic controllers going on strike,” he said.

“It is not acceptable that overflights over French airspace en route to their destination are being cancelled/delayed as a result of yet another French ATC strike.

“It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays.”

Ryanair is demanding the EU ensure that air traffic services are fully staffed for the first wave of daily departures, as well as to protect overflights during national strikes.

“These two splendid reforms would eliminate 90% of all ATC delays and cancellations, and protect EU passengers from these repeated and avoidable ATC disruptions due to yet another French ATC strike,” Mr O’Leary added.

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