Boris Johnson suggests no plans to prioritise key workers at the fuel pumps

Published

3 years ago

September 28, 2021

admin

Boris Johnson has suggested key workers such as medics and carers will not get priority to refuel at petrol stations as the situation was now “stabilising”.

When asked if any such plan was being considered, the prime minister said: “I understand people saying that, but with the situation now stabilising, with things getting better on the forecourt, the best thing is that… we stabilise it in the normal way.”

Fuel supply crisis – latest live updates

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

However, he said the indications from the fuel 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.

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

Despite this, motorists are still facing long queues at filling stations, with fights reportedly breaking out on some forecourts as petrol pumps run dry and limits on sales are imposed.

The prime minister suggested the panic buying was sparked by a “misleading account” in a leak.

“I think that what happened with the petrol pump business is that unfortunately there was a slightly misleading account of something which got leaked and caused a totally understandable surge in demand.”

Army tanker drivers have been put on a state of readiness should they be needed to ease the chaos on fuel supply chains.

Earlier, industry members said there were “early signs” the crisis is coming to an end.

Esso said the situation at 200 sites it operates which include a Tesco Express shop, had “stabilised” and things appeared to be “improving in terms of fuel availability”.

And the Petrol Retailers’ Association said an increasing number of its members are now “reporting taking further deliveries of fuel”.

Follow the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

It added: “We have conducted a survey of our members this morning and only 37% of forecourts have reported being out of fuel today.

“With regular restocks taking place, this percentage is likely to improve further over the next 24 hours.

“There are early signs that the crisis at pumps is ending.”

However, Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of reducing the country to “chaos” through its failure to deal with the fuel crisis.

The Labour leader said the haulage industry was “beyond frustrated” at the lack of a clear plan by ministers to alleviate the problems caused by the shortage of tanker drivers.

“The government has reduced the country to chaos as we track from crisis to crisis. The government is not gripping this,” he said.

“This problem was predictable and predicted and the government has absolutely failed to plan.”

UK

Queen Camilla withdraws from engagements after becoming unwell with chest infection

Published

1 hour ago

November 5, 2024

admin

Queen Camilla withdraws from engagements after becoming unwell with chest infection

The Queen is unwell with a chest infection and has withdrawn from her engagements this week, Buckingham Palace has announced.

A palace spokesperson said Camilla’s doctors “have advised a short period of rest” and added that “with great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week”.

They added the Queen “very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal”.

“She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” they said.

It is understood the Queen is currently resting at home and is under doctor’s supervision.

Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, has stepped in on Camilla’s behalf to attend the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday.

The Queen has also withdrawn from a Buckingham Palace reception for Olympic and Paralympic athletes hosted by the King on the same evening.

Camilla recently returned from an overseas tour of Australia and Samoa. No further details regarding her illness or treatment have been released.

UK

Labour confirms U-turn on proposed ban on smoking and vaping in pub gardens

Published

1 hour ago

November 5, 2024

admin

Labour confirms U-turn on proposed ban on smoking and vaping in pub gardens

A proposed ban on vaping and smoking in pub gardens will not go ahead, the health secretary has confirmed.

Wes Streeting said the Labour government would not press ahead with the idea after it was floated over the summer and caused an outcry within the hospitality industry.

Back in August, Sir Keir Starmer said his government was considering a ban on outdoor smoking in a bid to bring down the 80,000 preventable deaths caused by smoking in the UK each year.

The ban would have covered smoking in outdoor restaurants and outside sports venues, hospitals, nightclubs, and in some small parks.

But speaking to Sky News this morning, Mr Streeting confirmed the U-turn and said: “We’re not going ahead or not proposing to go ahead with a [smoking] ban on outdoor hospitality.”

Politics latest: Badenoch assembles shadow cabinet

He said the policy idea was a “leak of government discussion” over the summer and promoted a “really good debate about whether or not it would be proportionate” when taking into account the public health benefits, but also the potential downsides.

“I think people know the UK hospitality sector has taken a battering in recent years,” he added.

“And we don’t want to add to their pressure – so we’re not proposing to go ahead with an outdoor hospitality ban at this time.”

However, Mr Streeting did say that the smoking ban would be extended to some outdoor spaces, including schools, hospitals and children’s playgrounds.

It comes as the government today introduces a “groundbreaking” bill that aims to create the “first-ever smoke-free generation”.

The Tobacco and Vapes bill, which was first introduced by Rishi Sunak but was dropped due to the general election, will prevent anyone who was born on or after 1 January 2009 from buying tobacco.

The ban will effectively raise the legal age for buying cigarettes in England by one year every year, until it applies to the whole population.

The policy to create a “smoke-free generation” was seen as a defining one of Mr Sunak‘s premiership and caused controversy within Tory ranks, particularly the more libertarian wing of the party.

The bill will also create limits on the sale and marketing of vapes to children, while separate environmental legislation will be introduced to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes by next summer.

The health secretary said “clamping down on the scourge of youth vaping” with licensing, tougher enforcement and a ban on the marketing of vapes to children and young people was “happily, an area of broad cross-party consensus”.

“I first proposed the generational ban for children, when I was the shadow health secretary,” he said.

“To my delight and surprise, Rishi Sunak took it up as prime minister and Conservative leader.

“I hope that cross-party support will sustain a new leader of the Conservative Party, but we’ll find out in the coming weeks.”

UK

Powys crash: Safety system ‘blocked’ before fatal train collision

Published

1 hour ago

November 5, 2024

admin

Powys crash: Safety system 'blocked' before fatal train collision

A safety system was “blocked” during a fatal train crash in Powys, an initial investigation has found.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has published its initial findings into last month’s collision, in which one person died.

David Tudor Evans, 66, was described as a “lovely guy, full of life and enjoyment”.

A further 15 people were taken to hospital for treatment after the crash near Talerddig, police said.

The collision – at around 7.26pm on 21 October – involved the 6.31pm Transport for Wales service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the 7.09pm Transport for Wales service from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.

The RAIB said the units were fitted with wheel slide protection systems – described as being similar to anti-lock braking systems in cars – and an automatic sanding system.

Sand is discharged automatically via hoses when a wheel slide is detected during braking – creating more friction at the wheel-rail interface.

The on-train data recorder shows the wheel slide started during braking and was also present after the driver made an emergency brake demand.

An inspection of the sanding system fitted to Aberystwyth-bound train 1J25 showed the leading vehicle’s sanding hoses were blocked.

The RAIB says they were apparently unable to discharge sand.

The ongoing investigation is also looking at the speed at which the trains were travelling when they collided.

Initial enquiries suggest the westbound train was travelling at a speed of between 15mph and 24mph, while the eastbound train was travelling at a speed of 6mph.

The RAIB says its investigation will look at the sequence of events which led to the crash.

As part of the probe, the agency will look at factors including the actions of those involved, the level of wheel-rail adhesion, and the behaviour of both trains during and after the crash.

In a joint statement, Transport for Wales and Network Rail said they have “fully cooperated” with the British Transport Police, the Office of Rail and Road and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.

“As investigations are currently still ongoing, we’ll continue to work together with investigators to understand what happened and await the full conclusion and recommendations of the investigation,” a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said safety was the “main priority” for both companies and they had “carried out enhanced checks to the trains and the railway line”.

“At this early stage of the investigation, it’s fundamental that we await the findings of the full report and show sensitivity towards our customers, colleagues, the local community and the families of those affected by the incident,” they added.