Is the fuel crisis over?

Downing Street has been accused of “gaslighting the public” by insisting that the UK fuel shortages problem has been resolved.

“That crisis is now absolutely something which is back under control,” said Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, referring to the long queues outside some petrol stations earlier this week. “The most important message is the resilience of the fuel supply chain is improving.”

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also offered an optimistic assessment. Data suggests the fuel crisis is “stabilising”, he told Sky News, with forecourt stock levels rising in all parts of the UK.

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Chaos continues

The picture painted by the ministers is at odds with that presented by news outlets including The Guardian, which reported that nearly half of all independently owned petrol stations in the UK were still dry or out of one type of fuel on Thursday.

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents 65% of the UK’s 8,380 forecourts, said yesterday that 27% of its members were reporting that they had run out of fuel and a further 21% were out of at least one grade, such as diesel or unleaded petrol.

A petrol station owner in Surrey has also challenged the government’s claim. “It’s like they are gaslighting the public,” he told The Telegraph. “It was chaos [on Wednesday], it was chaos [on Thursday], and it will be chaos [on Friday].”

Turning the corner?

According to The Times, the crisis does appear to have been resolved in some parts of the country – but is still raging in others. An analysis of internal Whitehall data by the newspaper suggested that the situation is improving in northeast England, Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales, but added that other “large areas” were still suffering “significant shortages”.

Whitehall categorises each region as red, amber or green. Its analysis found that in England, London, the southeast, the northwest, and the west and east Midlands are rated red, with levels of less than 20%.

However, Northern Ireland is green, Scotland is amber but approaching green, and Wales, northeast England and Yorkshire and the Humber have moved from red to amber.

The AA is maintaining an upbeat tone, telling The Telegraph that signs that the number of drivers stranded without fuel had fallen sharply. “We believe we have turned the corner,” said Edmund King, president of the motoring organisation.

Don’t panic

The Times also reported that the government has instructed councils not to use the word “panic” when discussing the fuel crisis. Leaked documents show that local authorities are being encouraged to use alternative phrases such as “filling up earlier than usual” and “changed patterns in demand”.

The Petrol Retailers Association said it “would urge drivers to maintain their buying habits and only fuel up as and when needed to ensure there is plenty of fuel to go around”.