Why gas prices have soared and left UK facing prospect of food shortages

Published

4 years ago

September 20, 2021

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The price of gas has rocketed in recent weeks, putting several energy suppliers out of business and prompting warnings of food shortages in UK supermarkets.

Wholesale gas prices have soared by 250% since the beginning of the year, including a 70% rise since August, according to the Oil & Gas UK trade body.

So why is this happening and how is it disrupting the country’s food supplies?

How reliant is the UK on gas?

The gas market is crucial to the UK’s energy supply because of its role in heating, industry and power generation.

More than 22 million households are connected to the gas grid, the UK government says.

In 2020, 38% of the country’s gas demand was used for domestic heating, 29% for electricity generation and 11% for industrial and commercial use.

So why have wholesale gas prices increased?

One of the main reasons is an “uptick” in global gas demand as economies reopen after COVID lockdowns, according to the government.

It says this, combined with a cold winter in 2020-21 which prompted higher demand, has led to a “much tighter gas market with less spare capacity”.

Speaking on a visit to New York, Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted there were “a lot of short-term problems” caused by gas supply shortages, but he added: “This is really a function of the world economy waking up after COVID.

“This will get better as the market starts to sort itself out, as the world economy gets back on its feet.”

Russia accused of acting to push up gas prices

The European Commission has been asked to investigate the role of Russia’s state-backed gas company Gazprom in soaring gas prices across the continent.

A group of 40 MEPs has said the company’s behaviour had made them suspect market manipulation to push up gas prices.

In a letter, the MEPs said they were suspicious of Gazprom’s “effort to pressure” Europe to agree a fast launch to its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which still has to clear regulatory hurdles that could take months to complete.

The MEPs cited incidents including recent shut-ins of some of Gazprom’s production and said the company had refused to book gas transport capacities through existing pipelines.

“All these factors allow to suspect that the record natural gas price surge in Europe in the recent weeks may be a direct result of Gazprom’s deliberate market manipulation,” the letter said.

In response to the accusations, Gazprom said it supplied its customers with gas in full compliance with existing contracts.

The European Commission said it had received the letter and would reply in due course.

UK’s wind power hit by calmer weather

Calm weather over the past two weeks has cut output from the UK’s 11,000 wind turbines, which account for more than 20% of electricity generation, according to Bloomberg.

It has meant that demand for natural gas to produce electricity has increased and Britain has turned to coal-burning stations to fill the energy shortfall.

Are there other reasons behind the gas price rise?

Other factors include high demand in Asia for liquified natural gas which has meant less than expected has reached Europe.

In the UK, several gas platforms in the North Sea have also closed for maintenance that was paused during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, cables that import electricity from France were damaged last week following a fire.

The National Grid said its site at Sellindge in Kent was evacuated following the blaze on Wednesday morning.

The fire and planned maintenance means it will be offline until 25 September and only half of its two gigawatt capacity available until March 2022.

Why have food suppliers been hit?

The steep rise in gas prices has caused two large fertiliser plants in Teesside and Cheshire which produce carbon dioxide (CO2) as a by-product to shut, hitting supply to the food industry.

CO2 is used in the humane slaughter of livestock and to extend the shelf-life of products. It is also vital to cooling systems for refrigeration purposes, industry leaders have said.

Producers have warned that supplies of meat, poultry and fizzy drinks could all be hit due to the shortage of CO2.

Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, has said the country could be two weeks away from British meat disappearing from supermarket shelves.

He told Sky News: “The meat industry, in particular the pig and poultry industry, use CO2 for humane slaughter. Eighty per cent of pigs and poultry are slaughtered using that process.

“CO2 is a by-product of fertiliser. Those plants closed, and they account for about 60% of the CO2 produced in this country. They closed at very short notice with no warning. It really hit us cold.”

Mr Allen said meat manufacturers have said they have between five and 15 days’ supply left.

He added: “Then they will have to stop. That means animals will have to stay on farms. That will cause farmers huge animal welfare problems and British pork and poultry will stay off the shelves. We’re two weeks away from seeing some real impact on the shelves.”

Ranjit Singh Boparan, the owner of Bernard Matthews and 2 Sisters Food Group, said supply issues, as well as a shortage of workers, will affect the supply of turkeys for Christmas.

He said the supply of turkeys was “already compromised” as he needed to find an extra 1,000 workers to process supplies.

“Now with no CO2 supply, Christmas will be cancelled,” he added.

“The CO2 issue is a massive body blow and puts us at breaking point, it really does – that’s poultry, beef, pork, as well as the wider food industry.”

UK

Southend Airport remains closed after ‘fireball’ plane crash

Published

1 min ago

July 14, 2025

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Southend Airport remains closed after 'fireball' plane crash

Southend Airport has been closed until further notice after a small plane crashed – as video footage emerged showing the aftermath of a huge fireball.

Images posted online showed large flames and a cloud of black smoke following the incident on Sunday afternoon.

Essex Police said it responded to “reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane” shortly before 4pm.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours,” the statement said.

“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

Southend Airport said it would be “closed until further notice” due to the “serious incident”.

“We ask that any passengers due to travel (on Monday) via London Southend Airport contact their airline for information and advice,” it added.

Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands, confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been “involved in an accident” at the airport and its thoughts were with “everyone who has been affected”.

It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.

Pilots ‘waved’ to families watching planes

One man, who was at the airport with his wife and children, told Sky News the plane crashed within seconds of taking off.

John Johnson said the pilots “waved” at his family as they taxied the aircraft.

“We all waved [back] at them,” he continued. “They carried on taxiing to their take-off point and turned around.

“Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us. The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left.”

The aircraft then “almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed,” he said. “There was a large fireball.”

‘Airport was in lockdown’

Wren Stranix, 16, from Woodbridge in Suffolk, was in another aircraft waiting to take off for Newquay, Cornwall, with her family and boyfriend when the plane came down.

They watched from their aircraft as the emergency services arrived and were not able to leave their seats.

“The flight attendant didn’t know what was going on,” she told Sky News. “They said the plane had exploded and they didn’t know if it was safe or not. The airport was in lockdown.”

They were eventually allowed back in the terminal to wait before all flights were cancelled.

Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.

After the incident, EasyJet – one of just a few airlines that uses the airport – said all of its remaining flights to and from Southend had been “diverted to alternative airports or are no longer able to operate”.

The airline said it has contacted customers who were due to travel on Sunday. Anyone due to fly on Monday should check online for up-to-date information, it added.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.

The East of England Ambulance Service said four ambulances, four hazardous area response team vehicles and an air ambulance had been sent to the incident.

David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, asked people to keep away from the area and “allow the emergency services to do their work” in a post on social media.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “monitoring the situation closely and receiving regular updates”.

Essex Police have set up a dedicated public portal and phone line where people can contact them about the crash at https://esxpol.uk/LIbaz and on 0800 0961011.

Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: “In these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.”

He added: “We are working closely with all at the scene, as well as the Air Accident Investigation Branch, to establish what has happened today and why.”

UK

Gregg Wallace: Half the allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact

Published

1 hour ago

July 14, 2025

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Gregg Wallace: Half the allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact

An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found that more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.

MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.

The report also said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.

The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants.

There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were substantiated. All were related to MasterChef.

While the majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.

One allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.

Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place post-2018.

Ahead of the publication of the summary, Wallace had said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.

Additionally, the report summary found that there were also 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. Those people were not named in the summary.

The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.

While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures prior to 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.

While the investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.

Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace for contact today.

UK

Palace confirms dates of Trump’s state visit – as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

Published

9 hours ago

July 14, 2025

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Palace confirms dates of Trump's state visit - as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

The dates for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK have been announced, with the US president due to be welcomed by the King from 17 to 19 September.

Buckingham Palace also confirmed that President Trump and first lady Melania will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.

It was expected that the three-day state visit would take place in September after Mr Trump let slip earlier in April that he believed that was when his second “fest” was being planned for.

Windsor was also anticipated to be the location after the US president told reporters in the Oval Office that the letter from the King said Windsor would be the setting. Refurbishment works at Buckingham Palace also meant that Windsor was used last week for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit.

This will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture towards an American leader, having previously been invited to Buckingham Palace in 2019.

He has also been to Windsor Castle before, in 2018, but despite the considerable military pageantry of the day, and some confusion around inspecting the guard, it was simply for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.

Further details of what will happen during the three-day visit in September will be announced in due course.

On Friday, Sky News revealed it is now unlikely that the US president will address parliament, usually an honour given to visiting heads of state as part of their visit. Some MPs had raised significant concerns about him being given the privilege.

But the House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump’s visit as it will rise for party conference season on the 16 September, meaning the president will not be able to speak in parliament as President Macron did during his state visit this week. However, the House of Lords will be sitting.

In February this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented the US president with the letter from the King inviting him to visit during a meeting at the White House.

After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “and that says at Windsor – that’s really something”.

In the letter, the King suggested they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit. However, it is understood that, although all options were explored, complexities in both the King and Mr Trump’s diaries meant it wasn’t possible.

This week, it emerged that Police Scotland are planning for a summer visit from the US president, which is likely to see him visit one or both of his golf clubs in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, and require substantial policing resources and probably units to be called in from elsewhere in the UK.

Precedent for second-term US presidents, who have already made a state visit, is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.