The group that owns Asda has announced it will introduce a fuel cap of £30 per customer at all its petrol stations due to “unprecedented customer demand and associated supply challenges”.
In a statement, EG Group said the move would ensure “all our customers have a fair chance to refuel”, adding that the limit would apply to all its grades of fuel and that HGV drivers and emergency services were excluded.
It comes amid a perfect storm of shortages, with panic buying, a lack of fuel and a reduced number of HGV drivers all contributing to the crisis – which earlier forced some Shell petrol stations to run out of fuel altogether.
Britain’s retail industry warned the government had just “10 days to save Christmas” as companies prepare for the annual October rush, which relies on HGV drivers, but government insiders have told The Independent it might already be too late to stop disruption to the holiday.
Ministers met today to discuss lifting some visa requirements for goods drivers in a bid to stem the UK’s deepening logistics crisis.
No decision had been announced on Friday evening, but the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has since called for the government to establish a task force on the same pegging as the Cobra emergency committee to deal with the problems.
